building up and equipping the body of Christ
Antisemites who say: “Christ is King” are being manipulated spiritually (demonically) to sow division & distrust between Jews & true Christians to open the wounds inflicted on Jews by religious antisemites since the 3rd (?) century A.D.
This is in direct violation of the Royal Law of Christ Jesus – Love God, Love Others (neighbors, strangers, enemies), and in direct violation of Romans 10-11.
Most people ignore the fact that we are all dying, and going to die.
And only God knows how soon that moment will happen.
Deep down, people are afraid to die because God has put it in our hearts and minds to know the truth.
We are all already condemned by our own sin nature, and the death of the body (1st death) seals our eternal fate. If we don’t acknowledge and face this fact before that 1st death, then consider God’s mercy & love in providing the only acceptable holy sacrifice for our guilt & condemnation in the form of His promised only begotten Son Jesus Christ the Lord from the tribe of Judah, and receive the transference of our sin onto Him at the cross & His righteousness to us at His resurrection, sealing us by His Holy Spirit, freeing us from the power of slavery to sin, beginning our transformation into Christlikeness, and resulting in eternal life in God’s kingdom….
If we don’t… then we will be judged righteously in our condemnation and suffer the 2nd death.
Eternal just punishment & torment in the lake of fire for rejecting the only means of salvation, Jesus Christ.
God is merciful & gives mercy to all who ask Him for it, then He gives overflowing lovingkindness on top of His mercy.
Today I was listening to the radio while driving. It was David Crowder singing:
“I’m only right where I am today because somebody prayed.”
On the surface, as a Christian, this is true. I would not be a Christian unless somebody (many in fact) prayed for God to have mercy on me, and for me to hear & respond to the gospel of Jesus Christ.
But for some of us, it goes so much further than that.
I would not even exist unless somebody prayed.
My story begins before I was born.
Somebody Prayed
After my sister was born, my parents were told that my mom would never be able to have any more children. By the time my sister was twelve years old, she had put her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and continually prayed for a baby brother. She also prayed for God to change my dad, who was a very bad person.
My dad had been active duty in the U.S. Air Force for 15 years, and by 1969 had requested multiple tours of duty in Vietnam & Thailand. In late 1969, while in Vietnam, an airman in his squadron approached him and told him flatly: “You need to give your life to the Lord Jesus Christ tonight, or you are going to die and go to hell.”
That airman took my dad to a Navigators meeting that night, where he heard the gospel & gave his life to Jesus Christ.
The next day, while my dad was working in a building on base, a Vietnamese child entered the building begging for candy, and was blown up by the Viet Cong. The blast killed my dad’s best friend and injured my dad and others. (I am convinced to this day, that my dad would have died in that blast also if he hadn’t given his life to Christ Jesus the night before).
The Air Force sent my dad home from his tour of duty. When my sister saw my dad when he got home, she knew God had answered one of her prayers.
A miraculous change had happened. In her words: “The Lord had taken the old dad and thrown him in the trash and replaced him with a brand new man.” He was not the same person! The transformation began the night he gave his life to Jesus Christ.
My sister’s other prayer would seem to be answered soon after my dad came home. Another miracle happened when in early 1970, my mom got pregnant. It was a baby boy!
But then something terrible happened…
That baby boy was stillborn in the bathroom at home, at five months old.
My twelve year old sister had to collect her stillborn brother, put him in a Tupperware container with lid, and give him to the doctors when my mom was rushed to the hospital.
That’s when a nurse who was caring for my mom discovered that the still born child had a twin brother… me.
Another miracle. I was alive and still in the womb. It turns out that my mom had a very rare condition called uterus didelphys. Two wombs.
I went full term and was born healthy four months later. God answered my sister’s prayer and she got her baby brother. Twice. (Our youngest brother was born 14 months later)!
So I can confidently say that I’m only here today because somebody prayed. My older sister!
Born then Born Again
I am also confident that I came to faith in Christ Jesus because she never stopped praying for me, even after I was born.
I thank God the Father and my Lord & Savior Jesus Christ for my older sister and her faithful perseverance in prayer.
Are you right where you’re at today because somebody prayed? I encourage you to share your story.
Most people ignore the fact that we are all dying, and going to die. And only God knows how soon that moment will happen. Romans 6:23, Romans 5:12, Hebrews 9:27.
Deep down, people are afraid to die because God has put it our hearts and minds to know the truth. We are all already condemned by our own sin nature and the death of the body (1st death) seals our eternal fate.
If we don’t acknowledge & face this before that 1st death, consider God’s mercy & love in providing the only acceptable holy sacrifice for our guilt & condemnation in the form of His promised only begotten Son Jesus Christ the Lord from the tribe of Judah & receive the transference of our sin onto Him at the cross & His righteousness to us at His resurrection, sealing us by His Holy Spirit, freeing us from the power of slavery to sin, beginning our transformation into Christlikeness, and resulting in eternal life in God’s kingdom…. John 3:16-17, 2 Corinthians 5:21, Hebrews 9:28, Ephesians 1:13, John 3:5-6, John 3:36, John 17:3.
If we don’t… then we will be judged righteously in our condemnation and suffer the 2nd death. Eternal just punishment & torment in the lake of fire for rejecting the only means of salvation. Revelation 20:12-15.
God is merciful & gives mercy to all who ask Him for it, then He gives overflowing lovingkindness on top of His mercy. Exodus 34:6, Psalms 41:4, Psalms 57:1, Hebrews 8:12, John 1:12.
It is the same as for the Ninevites. There were those in Nineveh, that wicked city, that didn’t know their right hand from their left… children.
As I saw the images of the horrible and inhuman spectacle of Hamas & the Gazans releasing the dead bodies of the Bibas mother & her babies over to Israel, I wrestled with my rage & desire for God to annihilate all of them versus the fact that God takes no pleasure in the death of the wicked, and is merciful & long-suffering so any that would turn from their wicked ways at the preaching of repentance, the gospel, and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ would have that opportunity.
I saw the pictures of the babies & small children that the Gazans brought to watch & revel in their evil actions. That’s when I thought of Jonah & Nineveh.
“And should I not pity Nineveh, that great city, in which are more than one hundred and twenty thousand persons who cannot discern between their right hand and their left—and much livestock?”” Jonah 4:11 NKJV
For their sake, God sent Jonah to preach repentance.
“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the son of Amittai, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and cry out against it; for their wickedness has come up before Me.”” Jonah 1:1-2 NKJV
“Now the word of the Lord came to Jonah the second time, saying, “Arise, go to Nineveh, that great city, and preach to it the message that I tell you.”” Jonah 3:1-2 NKJV
#Bible-Study #hamas #Gaza #Palestinians #Nineveh
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