God's Vineyard

So, I began searching out some agricultural terms tonight based on a verse from the Proverb of the day - Proverbs 12:11 "Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies have no sense." The word "work" there is translated as "till" in the King James Version. I first looked at this word "till" which basically means to prepare the ground for receivign seed - plowing, breaking up, overturning, removing weeds, etc. Then, I was thinking about Jesus' use of and the Bible's use of the imagery of vines and vineyards to illustrate principles of the kingdom of God. After some semi-interesting reads on vineyards, grapes and wine,

I decided to narrow my search and typed in "God's Vineyard" and came across a message by Ray Stedman (don't worry if you have never heard of him, though you may want to check out some of his stuff after reading this message). The message I read was bascially Ray preaching through Jesus' discourse to the disciples after the Last Supper in John 15 about abiding in the vine. The take home message for me personally was that bearing fruit is about more than leading others to Christ; its not even mostly about leading people to Christ. It is about becoming more like Christ in character. The emphasis is on being, not doing. Jesus said, "You will be witnesses of Me". not do witnessing for Me. No matter how many years you've been walking with the Lord, the call to abide in Him and He in you (the message of John 15) remains essential and foundational. I've included below a link to the complete message. This is simple, straightforward, and edifying gospel truth. Enjoy!
http://www.pbc.org/files/messages/6023/3126.html

Abortion: Minnesota's Leading Cause of Death

Today, January 22, 2010, marks the 37th year since the infamous Roe v. Wade case was concluded in the U.S. Supreme Court and abortion was legalized. As I mentioned in the previous blog entry, over 50 millions babies have been aborted in the United States since the legalization of abortion in 1973. To get a more local perspective, I have compiled this graph, showing abortion as the leading cause of death in the state of Minnesota by about 3,500 to 4,000 deaths annually over cancer. The Minnesota Department of Health’s website confirms that Cancer and Heart Disease are the leading causes of death in the state of Minnesota, but, of course, they do not include abortion on that list.

Here’s what you looked like at 4 weeks old:



At this point, it was already determined what sex you would be; your neural tube, heart, and primitive circulatory system were all beginning to form by this stage. Your foundation for thoughts, senses, feeling, and your very life support system were all laid during this stage.

Here is what you looked like at 10 weeks old – cute huh!


God says in His word (the Bible) “Before I formed you in the womb, I knew you…” (Jeremiah 1:5); that God “formed your inward parts and wove you in your mother’s womb;” that you were “fearfully and wonderfully made” by your Creator (Psalm 139: 13-14).

I believe any honest person can see that what is growing inside of the womb even from the very moment of conception is a living being. It is predominantly our own selfishness that that allows us to deny this fact and continue down this road of murdering the most vulnerable population in our nation. We want to “have our cake and eat it too” – sex without commitment or responsibility. Our denial of the Judge of the Earth and His righteous laws (in this case regarding our sexuality) is always a choice for selfishness over responsibility and self-sacrifice, death over life. Because of these things (sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires, and greed/idolatry) the wrath of God is coming upon the world (Colossians 3:5-6).

Included in the annual reports on abortion in Minnesota (Table 17 for 2007’s report) are the reasons given by Minnesota residents for aborting their child. The overwhelming #1 reason given for abortion in Minnesota is “Does not want children at this time” (47%); the #2 reason given for abortion? “Economic reasons” (24%). I don’t want children at this time?!? Economic reasons?!? Are you kidding me!?! And how about the popular reasons always given in support of abortion, such as the pregnancy resulting in rape, incest, or risk to the woman’s health? These reasons came in at 0.4%, 0.003%, and 3%, respectively. Enough said – the numbers speak for themselves.

Jesus, I plead your blood over my sins, and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America; in Your judgment, remember mercy!

Sources:
Minnesota Department of Health
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/Trends/index.html
2001-2007 Trends – Excel Spreadsheets (Numbers of Cancer, Heart Disease, and Stroke deaths of MN residents from 2001-2007)

Minnesota Department of Health
http://www.health.state.mn.us/divs/chs/abrpt/2007abrpt.pdf
Induced Abortions in Minnesota – Report to the Legislature

37 Years of Legalized Abortion - Friday Jan. 22 - A Call to Prayer & Repentance

This Friday, January 22, 2010, marks 37 years since Roe v. Wade and the legalization of abortion in America. Since then, over 50 million babies have been aborted. 50 million lives! That’s more than the combined populations of 25 U.S. states! God warns us in the Bible (Numbers 35:33) not to pollute the land. The land, He explains, is polluted by bloodshed. Have you ever seen an aborted fetus? Have you seen the blood? Surely the United States is a land polluted by the blood of 50 million abortions!

Just recently, a number of seemingly pro-life senators had resisted signing the Senate's version of the health-care reform bill because of legislation that would allow tax-payer funded abortion nationwide. These senators, however, changed their minds and decided to vote for the bill – once a certain amount of funds were secured for their respective states, of course. In light of this bribery, look at what God had to say to the prophet Ezekiel, and is saying to us also in our day:
“Now, son of man, will you judge, will you judge the bloody city? Yes, show her all her abominations! …You have become guilty by the blood which you have shed, and have defiled yourself with the idols which you have made. You have caused your days to draw near, and have come to the end of your years; therefore I have made you a reproach to the nations, and a mockery to all countries…In you they take bribes to shed blood…Behold, I beat my fists at the dishonest profit which you have made, and at the bloodshed which has been in your midst. Can your heart endure, or can your hands remain strong in the days when I shall deal with you?” (Ezekiel 22:2, 4, 12-14)


While there is still time, while there is still breath in our lungs, there remains hope for our nation to turn. The fact that He gives us warnings speaks of His desire to show mercy and hold back judgment. The Lord is looking for those who will “stand in the gap” before Him on behalf of the nation, that He might not destroy it (Ezek. 22:30). At the critical junctures, in the crisis moments of nations, God says, “Yet even now, return to Me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning. Rend your hearts and not your garments. Return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and He relents from sending calamity. Who knows? He may turn and have pity and leave behind a blessing.” (Joel 2:12-14).

This is our hope, and this is our call to intercession. In intercession, we cry out for mercy on behalf of those who cannot and will not cry out to God for themselves. Jesus is our great intercessor, who not only prayed, but laid down His very life for those who could not and would not save themselves.

The prophet Daniel, in Daniel chapter 9, is another great example of an intercessor. With fasting and mourning, He identifies with the sins of his nation, confesses the sins, mourns over them, and pleads with God to show mercy and grant forgiveness and repentance. The call is going forth across this nation to intercede – to confess our sins and the sins of our nation, to repent, to fast and mourn, to pray for the ending of abortion and the cleansing of our land, for God’s mercy and the turning back of judgment and destruction, for revival – the turning of our hearts back to the Lord! Respond to this call this Friday January 22nd, or any day for that matter. While we have breath in our lungs, let us petition the highest court – heaven’s court. Perhaps we have not ourselves had an abortion - but where we have been involved in sexual sin, where we have been silent when we knew we were to speak out, where we have voted for pro-choice candidates - we have need of repentance.

Is that plain enough? Let’s try once more: Abortion, which is the shedding of innocent blood, is an abomination in the sight of God! The United States has become a land polluted with innocent blood, sanctioned by the government. The government is now seeking, not to repent, but rather to increase the bloodshed. We the people, by our vote, are a part of the government. This is a national sin, requiring national repentance, lest we suffer national judgment. I know many in the body of Christ have been sharing these same things, even for years. And the battle has been raging for years. It is not a time to lose heart, but to heed God’s call to intercession and repentance. Now, may we also stand up and be counted, and our voices be heard in our generation. May we be faithful witnesses of the Lord Jesus Christ.


Open your mouth for the speechless (the unborn),
In the cause of all who are appointed to die.
Open your mouth, judge righteously,
And plead the cause of the poor and the needy.
-Proverbs 31:8-9

And Jesus told them a parable to the effect that they ought always to pray and not lose heart…
“And will not God bring about justice for His chosen ones, who cry out to Him day and night?
Will He keep putting them off?
I tell you, He will see that they get justice, and quickly.
However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” -Luke 18: 1, 7-8

“If My people, who are called by My name, will humble themselves and pray, and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land.” -2 Chronicles 7:14

Inheriting the Promises

I was impressed this morning with the faith of Caleb. No, not my friend from St. Cloud (sorry Caleb), but the Biblical Caleb. Hebrews 6:12 tells us that through faith and patience we inherit the promises. Most of Caleb's life that we see in the Scriptures is an exercise of faith and patience.

Many of you know probably know the story. In case you don't, here's a quick summary: Shortly after passing through the Red Sea and being delivered from Egypt, Israel was in the wilderness. God tells Moses to select 12 men, each a leader from one of the tribes of Israel, and send them into the land of Canaan (the promised land) to spy it out and bring back a report of the land and its people. Caleb was one of those men. After 40 days of exploring, the 12 returned to the camp of Israel to give their report. They all agreed that the land was good, but most feared the people of the land, though God had already delivered them from the mightiest kingdom (Egypt) and had promised to subdue the Canaanite nations before them as well. Only Caleb and Joshua believed God's promise to subdue those nations and give Israel the land. The others feared the Canaanite people and rebelled against Moses and Aaron (and ultimately God). To make a long story short, God destroyed those that brought back the bad report and rebelled, and vowed that that generation of Israel, who joined the others in their disbelief, would die in the wilderness and not enter the promised land. 40 years, He said, they would wander in the wilderness - one year for every day they were in the land spying it out - until that generation all died off. Only Joshua and Caleb would enter the land because, as the Lord said, "My servant Caleb has a different spirit and follows me wholeheartedly..."

All that is background to bring us to Joshua 14 - 45 years later. Joshua is now leading the Israelites, and they are, indeed, beginning to take the promised land. Caleb approaches Joshua and says to him,
"Now then, just as the Lord promised, He has kept me alive for forty-five years since the time He said this to Moses, while Israel moved about in the wilderness. So, here I am today, eighty-five years old! I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then. Now give me this hill country that the Lord promised me that day. You yourself heard then that the Anakites were there and their cities were large and fortified, but, the Lord helping me, I will drive them out just as He said."

Imagine wandering around in the wilderness, getting older year by year for forty years, forty-five years, awaiting the fulfillmet of the promise. Our natural inclination (contrary to faith) in situations like this is to doubt - even when we've received the word of the Lord! You think to yourself, "I know God said He would kill off this generation and then I would inherit the land, but maybe that word wasn't even really God; maybe it was just Moses' word but not the word of God " or, "I was the one who came back with a good report - I'm not the one who doubted God, so why do I have to wait?" or, "Sure, forty years from now, but what good is receiving the promise going to do me then - I'll be 85! Too old to really benefit from it anyways." or "(insert your own doubt/fear/anxiety/complaint/excuse here_____)."

Though we're not told exactly what Caleb went through during those forty years, we can assume that, like the other heroes of faith, he "considered Him (God) faithful who had made the promise." Our faith is more than a passive wish; it is a confident trust and expectation that illicits a response from people of faith back to God. Those who believe God's promise prepare themselves to receive what God has promised. Again, that's why Hebrews 6:12, the verse about inheriting the promises through faith and patience begins by saying "We do not want you to become lazy, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised. Lazy, wishful thinking is not faith. We see the fruit of Caleb's faith in v. 11 "I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I'm just as vigorous to go out into battle now as I was then." Caleb did not become lazy while waiting for the promise of God. No, he remained wholehearted and full of faith towards the promise of God and prepared himself physically to take the land he expected to receive. As James wrote of Abraham, the same is true of Caleb "You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did."

The wise farmer who is believing for rain and a harvest to follow prepares their field and plants their seed; the farmer who believes for rain and a harvest but does not prepare their field or sow their seed is a fool. This same principle is seen in Proverbs 28:19 "Those who work their land will have abundant food, but those who chase fantasies will have their fill of poverty."

So may we also receive what God has promised us through faith and patience.

"How many loaves do you have?"

A great crowd of people (several thousand) had been following Jesus for three days, learning about the kingdom of God, witnessing Jesus perform miracles, healing, and casting out demons. After three days, they, Jesus, and the disciples found themselves in a desolate place and out of food. Jesus had compassion on the crowd and told the disciples He did not want to send them away hungry.

And His disciples answered Him, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" And He asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." - Mark 8:4-5

If you are familiar with this account, you know what followed. The people sat down, Jesus blessed the bread, broke it, and the disciples set it before all the people and all were fed, both bread and fish, and they took up leftovers and gathered them in seven baskets full.

The simple message I believe the Holy Spirit was getting across to me yesterday as I read this account is this: often we feel just like those disciples. The seven loaves and the few fish we have seem so small, so weak, and so insignificant. They are all we have, but it seems futile to even try and do anything with them when we see the great need before us. But then Jesus asks us, "How many loaves do you have?"

Now, God is certainly not limited in how He works. He can create something out of nothing. He created the universe out of nothing. But, here we see an example of the Lord taking something ordinary and natural - the disciples bread and fish - and doing something supernatural - feeding thousands with it. Often we tend to think we need to have something supernatural to give, or have supernatural power to perform the works of God. The problem is that the supernatural does not come from us, does not originate from us - it comes from God. He is willing to perform the supernatural through us, working in partnership with us, but the means He uses may be natural, like the bread. He takes the natural and exercises His power over it - the supernatural. We do our part, the natural, submitting it to Jesus, and He does what we cannot do - the supernatural.

Sign the petition for the release of 2 Iranian women jailed for their faith

Maryam Rustampoor and Marzieh Amirizadeh have been jailed in Iran since March 5th of 2009. Their crime? Being Christian in a Muslim nation. Throughout their imprisonment, they have suffered ill health, solitary confinement, and hours of interrogation while blind-folded. On August 9th, they appeared before a court and were questioned about their faith and were urged to recant their faith in Jesus Christ verbally and in written form. After affirming their faith in Christ before the court, they were sent back to prison and told by the deputy prosecutor to think about their options and come back to him when they are ready to comply. They replied that they "have already done their thinking."
A petition you can sign petitioning for the release of these two women can be found here: http://www.wnd.com/petition_iran

This is a clear violation of human rights and religious liberty. Incidents such as these (and worse) are happening more and more frequently in Iran and all over the world. If we remain silent on issues such as these, it won't be but a few decades and we'll see this same imposition of dhimmitude right here in America; we can already see it happening in Europe.

Please pray for these young women, and please sign the petition. For more information on their story, visit http://www.adnamis.org/story.cfm?story_id=203

The 'Fall of Capitalism and the Rise of Islam'?

The Khilafah Conference 2009 - America was held today in Oak Lawn, IL, outside of Chicago. A press release about the event on Friday from the group sponsoring the conference, Hizb-ut Tahrir America, stated "the conference will address the era of global change. It will present Islam as a platform for an ideological alternative to replace a failing system that has failed the whole of humanity. From the midst of Africa to the cities of America, people are suffering from the failing policies that have left hundreds of millions of people in hunger and poverty. The conference will emphasize the importance of the Caliphate State (Khilafah) that will introduce a new world order based on equality, justice, and the well being of humanity..."

"What is a Caliphate anyways?" you say? I'm glad you asked. The caliphate refers to a traditional form of government based on Islam. The term also refers to a state that implements such a government. For such a government to exist, there must be a unified nation of Muslim believers, and they would be led by a single head of state referred to as the Caliph. The Caliph is said to derive his authority from the prophet Muhammad himself. The last Caliphate, the Ottoman empire, was ended in 1924 when Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, president of the Republic of Turkey, constitutionally abolished it. There has been desire among some in the Muslim world ever since that time, however, to re-establish the Caliphate. The voices calling for its re-establishment have gotten louder in louder, both in the Muslim world, and now we see it also in the heartland of the good 'ol USA.

You can read more here
and watch the conference promo video

Will the Caliphate be re-established? Will Islam unite and rise to global superpower status? Is capitalism finished? Is America's status as a superpower finished? Will there be an Islamic Anti-Christ? Only time will tell, but this is certainly a time to be spiritually alert, awake, sober, and watchful.

Author Joel Richardson (a pen name) certainly makes a compelling case for the Islamic Anti-Christ in his book with that same title, "The Islamic Anti-Christ"; this book was first released with the title "Anti-Christ: Islam's Awaited Messiah", but it is now being re-released with a new title and some additional, updated information. He specifically contends that the Islamic Anti-Christ will be the Caliph of a revived Caliphate in Turkey, the place of the last Caliphate which ended in 1924, mentioned earlier. My purpose in writing this blog is not to plug Mr. Richardson's book; however, I have found it to be well written, informative, and extremely relevant to the times we live in. Here is a link to that book.

For those students of the Bible and eschatology (the study of the end-times), much of this may be old news to you; for others, you have already dismissed this all as absurd, even as you likely dismiss faith in Jesus Christ as absurd. But for those "in the valley of decision" so to speak, I pray that you would investigate these matters, and may God convince you of the truth and reality of what He has said concerning both the generation of His return, and of all that He has said - and may that truth transform you. In Jesus' name. Amen!