What's really going on?

 Good morning,

What’s really going on?

It’s a wonderful feeling for those of us who are a part of God’s eternal family to know that what the world sees as confusion and terror is something that our God told us would happen thousands of years ago.  The Bible tells us that right from the beginning of time our world would be a war zone for all of time. Adam and Eve were the first targets of the billions of people that have been involved in the war ever since. On one side is the Creator God, the King of all kings and the Lord of all lords.(1Tim.6:15) On the other side is Satan and evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.(Eph.6:12) Early on in the Bible we are given a picture of how this works in the book of Job. One day Satan showed up in heaven and God asked where he had come from. His answer, "I have been patrolling the earth, watching everything that's going on.”(Job 1:7) Then the Lord said, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth.(v.8) Satan whined and complained and challenged God to allow him to test him. The LORD said, "Do whatever you want with everything he possesses, but don't harm him physically.”(v.12) Satan’s plan didn’t work. When Satan showed up in heaven again the Lord asked, "Have you noticed my servant Job? He is the finest man in all the earth. He also added,  he has maintained his integrity, even though you urged me to harm him without cause.”(Job 2:3) Satan suggested another test and the LORD said, "All right, do with him as you please,”-"But spare his life.”(v.6) It was a long hard test for Job but he stayed true to the Lord and was rewarded wonderfully by his powerful loving God and Savior.  Could it that our Lord and Savior today will be allowing these kinds of tests to be a part of testing the people who are God’s children or who claim to be God’s children all over the earth?

It’s important that we realize several things if we are going to find ourselves living in heaven with the likes of Job and the saints that have gone before us.  First we must understand that our only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords is the same now as he has always been in eternity and time. Next we must remember that, He alone can never die, and he lives in light so brilliant that no human can approach him. No human eye has ever seen him, nor ever will. All honor and power to him forever! Amen.(1Tim.6:16) Next we must remember that, Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge! How impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways  For who can know the LORD's thoughts? Who knows enough to give him advice?(Rom.11:33,34)  Next we must remember that our God knows every detail of our history from its beginning to its end. So when it comes to His and our enemies, Together they will go to war against the Lamb, but the Lamb will defeat them because he is Lord of all lords and King of all kings. And his called and chosen and faithful ones will be with him.”(Rev.17:14) Finally we must remember, All who are victorious will inherit all these blessings, and I will be their God, and they will be my children. "But cowards, unbelievers, the corrupt, murderers, the immoral, those who practice witchcraft, idol worshipers, and all liars–their fate is in the fiery lake of burning sulfur. This is the second death.”(Rev.21:7,8) May we be willing to say like Job, Though he slay me, I will hope in him.(Job13:15)

1 Timothy 6:15 For, At just the right time Christ will be revealed from heaven by the blessed and only almighty God, the King of all kings and Lord of all lords.

Roy Wisner

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Passing the terror test!

 Good morning,

Passing the terror test!

When God made the earth and filled it with all kinds of life, He also made it a place of testing for those who would be given human life before they would be given eternal life or eternal punishment.  God made the world a place of beauty and love and safety and eternal life but He also allowed his arch enemy, Satan, to offer the human race a life based on their selves, their control and their success. God made sure that every generation would  have the choice of knowing and loving and believing Him. Satan’s favorite tools have been giving the need for the right of personal pleasure or the threat of losing control of life, or facing terror and death.  Now that we are at this time of history we find our whole world facing terror and death in some very powerful ways. I believe that this challenge is allowed by God to test and reward people for their genuine love of God or to be outed as enemies of God by the intensity of the terror they are facing. For those of us in God’s family it is our opportunity to Never Give Up in time as we prepare for our eternal life with the family of God.

We will Never Give Up if, We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don't try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.(2Cor.4:2) By contrast Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don't believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don't understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.(v.4) God’s children have a very different outlook. You see, we don't go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus' sake.(v.5)  While the world around us is terrorized in darkness, We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure.(v.7) While the people in the world around us are doing their best to control themselves and everyone else around them, it is clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.(v.7)  What makes the world around us hate us even more is, We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God.(vs.8,9) For those of us who are in God’s family we know that God has said, "I will never fail you. I will never abandon you.”(Heb.13:5)While the people around us who belong to Satan are terrified by the possibility that they will die and maybe go to hell, We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. ((2Cor.4:14) 

The truth about God’s family is, That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. (v.16) While the rebellious people around us feel overwhelmed by wave after wave of terror, God’s family know that, our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!(v.17) We must remember that if we are really going to pass God’s test for each of us, we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen.(v.18)  As God’s children, He will help us to keep remembering, For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.(v.18) Dear Lord, Please help us to remember what you have promised us, to do our best to live and love like you do, and to feel a deep sorrow for those who refuse your love and who hate us because we will not stop loving you.

2 Corinthians 4:1 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 

Roy Wisner

Why would Jesus cry?

 Good morning,

Why would Jesus cry?

When Jesus began his final trip to Jerusalem, His trip into town found him riding on a young colt, surrounded by confused disciples, and a growing group of people who were all excited about Jesus and saying, "Blessings on the King who comes in the name of the LORD! Peace in heaven, and glory in highest heaven!”(Luk.19:38)  When he got close enough to see Jerusalem, Jesus started to cry. Was he afraid or angry or overwhelmed?  No, he said, "How I wish today that you of all people would understand the way to peace. But now it is too late, and peace is hidden from your eyes.(v.42) He wasn’t crying for himself, but for those who hated him and were planning to kill him. Jesus really did love the people in his world, who hated him.  Jesus knew what would happen to those who hated him and his love spilled out in tears for their eternal life of suffering.

 It is now becoming increasingly clear that the world of that time is now beginning to show up in our time, so what should we do when we find ourselves surrounded this way? The Lord taught Saul, Our lives are a Christ-like fragrance rising up to God. But this fragrance is perceived differently by those who are being saved and by those who are perishing.(2Cor.2:15) You see, now we are being surrounded by terrified and hateful people, and the Lord tells us, To those who are perishing, we are a dreadful smell of death and doom.(v.16) God built into those who hate Him and His Son the possibility of death and doom when their life is over.  But then he tells us, But to those who are being saved, we are a life-giving perfume.(v.16) Remember what Jesus told his disciples, I tell you the truth, anyone who obeys my teaching will never die!”(Jon.8:51)  That kind of faith and living is what makes us and our Savior so smelly because that’s not what they want out of life.  They want control!

Jesus himself told us a story of what God has planned for those who will not trust and obey and love Him. A rich man living a wonderful life and a beggar living outsider his house sick and poor. The rich man wanted nothing to do with him.  Then they both died. The poor man went to what we would call paradise.(Luk.16:22)  The rich man went to what we would call hell and he was living in torment. To make his pain even more painful, he could see the beggar a long way off being taken care of by one of God’s favorite children.(v.23) The rich man shouted, 'Father Abraham, have some pity! Send Lazarus over here to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue. I am in anguish in these flames.’(v.24) Abraham said, 'Son, remember that during your lifetime you had everything you wanted, and Lazarus had nothing. So now he is here being comforted, and you are in anguish.(v.25)  He then told the rich man that he could never get into God ’s family and no one in heaven could get him out of hell.  At another time Jesus told his disciples that in hell they would always be living in fire and the maggots would never die.(Mar.9:43,48)  Jesus wasn’t happy they were going there,  He was profoundly sad.  Also John tells us that at the end of time, I saw a great white throne and the one sitting on it. The earth and sky fled from his presence, but they found no place to hide. (Rev.20:11) He then tells us what the ungodly will face. I saw the dead, both great and small, standing before God's throne. And the books were opened, including the Book of Life. And the dead were judged according to what they had done, as recorded in the books.(v.12) Finally, And anyone whose name was not found recorded in the Book of Life was thrown into the lake of fire.(v.15) Dear Lord, please help us to live and love with your love and not be controlled by our earthly enemies.

Luke 19:41 But as he came closer to Jerusalem and saw the city ahead, he began to weep. 

Roy Wisner

Someone we can really trust!

Good morning,

Someone we can really trust!

In America in 1776 our founding fathers based the values of their documents on the God of the Bible. In 1868, right after the civil war, our leaders put In God We Trust on all our coins. In 1956, we decided that we would put In God We Trust on the back of our paper money.  In 2020 it is still on our money, but now they are just empty words to the vast majority of our citizens.  Alas, that same attitude is true in almost all of the nations in our world today.  What we have forgotten, even in many of our churches worldwide today, is what David knew and wrote for us to read and believe today. He tells us, For the word of the LORD holds true, and we can trust everything he does.(Ps.33:4) Right now we are overwhelmed with all kinds of lies and terror and anger from the world around us, and many of those who claim to be Christians have stopped believing what the Lord has told them. He reminds us that God loves whatever is just and good; the unfailing love of the LORD fills the earth.(v.5) Then he reminds us that, From his throne he observes all who live on the earth. He made their hearts, so he understands everything they do.(v.14,15)

While the world around us lives on lies the Bible makes it very clear that the Lord just had to speak a word to create the earth and the heavens.(v.6,7) What the Lord longs for us to do is to trust his work and words at any time in any place and in any set of circumstances. David reminds us that, Let the whole world fear the LORD, and let everyone stand in awe of him.(v.8) Satan is doing his best to get us to be controlled by fear and force and the approval of his followers. He wants us to rely on science and medicine and the personal control of our leaders instead of, the LORD watches over those who fear him, those who rely on his unfailing love. He rescues them from death and keeps them alive in times of famine.(vs.18,19) Our God isn’t against medicine, but if we will only trust what we can do ourselves, we are missing the important of relying on him instead of what others say and do to control us.  

  

Then what David had learned from the Lord during his many years of confusion and hatred and fear was that, We put our hope in the LORD. He is our help and our shield.(v.20)  Our Lord knows everything that is going on in his world.  He knows who we are and why we are where we are. He always stand between us and our enemies.  He is like a shield that can never be broken. When we really understand this truth, In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name.(v.21)  While the world around us is living in fear and hatred, our God will fill us with heart based rejoicing and we will be living in peace and trust and joy no matter how challenging  our lives look to us and those around us. David also learned to pray a prayer that also becomes a very important for us as well.  He tells us, Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.(v22)  Thank you Lord that you are really here, you really know us, and you really care. Thank you that you are really someone we can always trust in time and in eternity. 

Psalms 33:22 Let your unfailing love surround us, LORD, for our hope is in you alone.

Roy Wisner

Trust our fears or trust His love.

Good morning,

Trust our fears or trust His love?

When the Lord of life and love and peace lets the Enemy of our souls roar and rage and threaten us, we can be sure that God knows what he is doing no matter how we feel.  God gave us the Bible so that his family would  understand the reason for the darkness around us. When God sent his Son Jesus to live with us, John the baptist told his followers,  “He (Jesus) has come from above and is greater than anyone else. We are of the earth, and we speak of earthly things, but he has come from heaven and is greater than anyone else.(Jn.3:31)  He also said,   And anyone who believes in God's Son has eternal life. Anyone who doesn't obey the Son will never experience eternal life but remains under God's angry judgment.”(v.36)  Does that mean that we are supposed to listen and love and obey Him?  Does Jesus owe us something just because we have decided to call ourselves Christians?

Remember when Jesus was talking to his disciples he told them, Those who accept my commandments and obey them are the ones who love me.(Jn.14:21)  Then Jesus promised them, "All who love me will do what I say. My Father will love them, and we will come and make our home with each of them.  Anyone who doesn't love me will not obey me.(vs.23,24)  God knew that we could’t do this by ourselves so Jesus promised us, I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth.(Jn.14:16,17) He also promised us, the Holy Spirit–he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.(v.26) But then Jesus tells us, The world cannot receive him, because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him.(v.17) If we call ourselves a christian but are controlled by fear and anger and what will happen next, are we believing God and trusting God and relying on God’s Holy Spirit to control us?

Jesus went on to clarify this when he told them, "I have loved you even as the Father has loved me. Remain in my love.(Jn.15:9)  The real issue we are dealing with is the difference between believing our fears or believing and living out God’s love.  Again Jesus said, When you obey my commandments, you remain in my love, just as I obey my Father's commandments and remain in his love.(v.10) So what is Jesus promising us?  He said, I have told you these things so that you will be filled with my joy. Yes, your joy will overflow!(v.11)   At another time Jesus told them, "I am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won't have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life.”(Jn.8:12) Dear Lord, please help us to remember in this battle for our hearts and lives is built on trusting our Father, our Savior and Lord Jesus, and the power you give us from your Holy Spirit.

Galatians 5:22  But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,  23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

Roy Wisner

Good morning,

Lord, help us not to forget!

Next weekend in America we will be celebrating Memorial day, a day to remember the men and women who have fought and died in order to keep America free. This all started long ago, May 30, 1868, after the Civil War between the North and Southern states when around 600,000 men died for what they believed was right. If all of our war casualties in America were added together we have well over a million people who have paid the price of their lives to perfect our country. Now we are faced with a new kind of war.  A deadly virus has become the enemy for so many of us from all over the world. This year we need to remember on our memorial days the thousands of doctors and nurses and support helpers of all kinds who have died in trying to save the millions of people all around the world who are caught this virus. This battle is based on the fear and sickness  and death that no one has the right medicine to cure. As God’s family is concerned, we need to remember that the people around us who are not in in God’s family are facing terror, anger and hatred for our leaders and the God of the Bible for letting something like this to happen to them. The God of the Bible knows what he is doing in allowing this to happen, and God’s sworn Enemy is delighted to do his best to create confusion and destruction. 

There is something else that those of us who are genuine members of God’s family need to keep remembering, that our Savior, Good Shepherd, Lover and perfect planner will never forget his promises to us. Remember, Jesus said, My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them away from me,(Jn.10:27,28)  and then he adds, for my Father has given them to me, and he is more powerful than anyone else. No one can snatch them from the Father's hand.(v.29) We can also remember that, For God chose to save us through our Lord Jesus Christ, not to pour out his anger on us.(1Th.5:9) We are also told, Christ died for us so that, whether we are dead or alive when he returns, we can live with him forever.(v.10) Another thing is, Stay alert! Watch out for your great enemy, the devil. He prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour. (1Pt.5:8) While the world around us is overwhelmed, we are told, Stand firm against him, and be strong in your faith. Remember that your family of believers all over the world is going through the same kind of suffering you are.(v.9)  Then God tell us, So after you have suffered a little while, he will restore, support, and strengthen you, and he will place you on a firm foundation.(v.10) 

There is one more very important issue that we need to be aware of every day.  We need to keep remembering that Jesus promised to come back for His church.  For the Lord himself will come down from heaven with a commanding shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet call of God.(1Th.4:16) The believers who have already died will be raised first and then, we who are still alive and remain on the earth will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. Then we will be with the Lord forever.(v.17)  We can not know the day or hour, but I think it is very close indeed.  Dear Lord, please help us to stay awake and alert and to obey you gladly so that when you come, we will be ready.

1 Thessalonians 5:11 So encourage each other and build each other up, just as you are already doing.

Roy Wisner

Happy Mother's Day

Good morning,

Happy Mother’s Day

Yesterday in America we were celebrating our mothers with flowers and cards and special meals with families who are able to be together in person or on the phone or on our computers.  When God designed us in his image he designed us based on the basis of the three parts of God, God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit, that have always worked perfectly in eternity past. They all agreed and, Then God said, "Let us make human beings in our image, to be like us.(Gen.1:26) When God spoke them into their creation, he created them; male and female he created them.(v.27)  Their relationship as humans worked very well until they listened to a fallen angel and found themselves at odds with one another as is true for all of us sinners since then.  God gave the man the responsibility of leadership, but his wife and helper were always a part of the story of the Bible from it’s beginning to its end.  The Bible is filled with stories of the role of wives and mothers who shared the responsibility and the challenges that come with growing families and taking care of their husbands needs. God has always used women and mothers as an important part of His eternal plan.

At one point in the Bible King Lemuel wrote a wonderful card to his wife or wives that reminded him so much of his mother. The king wrote a special letter based on the letters of the Hebrew alphabet that started and ended with “excellence.”  If you are a women I am sure that you would enjoy what he wrote, but be careful or you will find yourself feeling far from the perfect wife he was writing about.  He began his letter in Proverbs 31:10 and finished it in verse 27. He had so many wonderful things to say about her, but being a wise and loving man he didn’t include the challenges that were also a part of their years together.  What he did say that was especially meaningful to her was, Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her:(v.28) It was obvious that he really did love her, but we also need to remember that Peter tells us, Most important of all, continue to show deep love for each other, for love covers a multitude of sins.(1Pet.4:8)  The king went on to say, "There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!”(v.29) He recognized that God had given him just the right person for him and them, and they were so blessed by her.  

Then he made two different statements that tells us how God was a part of why they were relating to her in that way.  I would expect that their marriage had been a long and somewhat challenging relationship but the wear and tear was not the key factor in their relationship.  He writes, Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised.(v.30)  Her love for God was the most beautiful part of her heart and person, and all the people around here were praising her as well. Then he prays to God, Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.(v.31)  Dear Lord, please help us as sons and husbands and fathers to love our mothers and wives with God’s love and gratitude that is so important for us to remember during these challenging days.

Proverbs 31:29 "There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!"

Roy Wisner