Facing Reality

I also shared this on my family blog, Blessed Hope Homestead.

1. But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin. 1 John 1:7 NIV
2. I remember as a child waking up in the middle of the night and becoming frightened by the shadows of the room. Is that dark blob some nefarious creature waiting to pounce the moment I move? My imagination would run wild. I don’t know why I thought laying really still and hiding under the covers would keep me safe. We’ve all been there. It is one of those things of childhood.

But you know what? As you can probably guess, the moment I gathered the courage to turn on the light I could plainly see that what I had feared was the pile of clothes I had tossed on the chair (instead of putting away like Mom expected). The fear was gone instantly because the light revealed reality.

Such as it is with life. Even death.

So many are walking among the shadows. What they are convinced is reality, isn’t. They rely upon their senses, the opinions of others, and their own limited understanding to interpret the world around them. As a result, many live in fear. If they would only let the Light show them the reality, they would see the Truth. They would KNOW the Truth…and it will set them free. Free from their fears; free from the darkness and the pain associated with it.

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.  ⁹That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. ^{John 1: 1-5; 9}

Jesus is the Word. Jesus is God. All creation is through Him. The very breath you take is because He wills it. Man was created in His likeness, to walk in fellowship with Him. However, man chose to believe a lie and to lean upon his own understanding and was thus separated from God. Mankind SINNED and the punishment of sin is death; death in the lake of fire for all eternity separated from God. This was not God’s will. He does not want anyone to perish so,

¹⁶ For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. ¹⁷ For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. John 3 NKJV

He gave us a way out. The ultimate do-over.

²³ For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 6 NKJV

This is REALITY. Reality is not in the eye of the beholder. It isn’t what you perceive it to be. There IS and there IS NOT. TRUTH or FICTION. The reality is, we sinned. We deserve an eternity in hell because the alternative to hell is fellowship with God in heaven, but we cannot be in fellowship with the Creator Almighty God because He is Holy and cannot fellowship with sin. Not without the sin being removed and covered by the blood of a perfect sacrifice. So, He became flesh and lived among us, experiencing everything all humans experience but SINNED NOT. He then offered HIMSELF as the pure, perfect, sacrificial Lamb to take away our sins. He offers us a plan of salvation; a way to be restored to fellowship with God. That is LOVE. Pure, perfect LOVE.

³⁶ “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”³⁷ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, “Men and brethren, what shall we do?”³⁸ Then Peter said to them, “Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ³⁹ For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.” Acts 2

Believe. Confess. Repent. Be Baptized. Walk in the Lord Jesus.

The easiest do-over ever, because you can’t actually DO anything….Jesus did it all, He paid it all. Embrace it.

I implore everyone to FACE REALITY! Jesus IS coming back, but this time He will not be the sacrificial Lamb. No, the time for that would’ve passed. He is coming back to judge the world.

¹¹ Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. ¹² His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had^[e] a name written that no one knew except Himself. ¹³ He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean,^[f] followed Him on white horses. ¹⁵ Now out of His mouth goes a sharp^[g] sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. ¹⁶ And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written:

KING OF KINGS AND
LORD OF LORDS. Revelation 19

This is not science fiction, but reality. Do not be among those who will face the wrath of God. He has made it so easy for you NOW to live in the Light and enjoy an eternity with Him.

¹⁸ “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. ¹⁹ And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. ²⁰ For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. ²¹ But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” John 3

Don’t shut out the Light. Face reality because time is running out!

²⁰ He who testifies to these things says, “Surely I am coming quickly.”

Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus! Revelation 22

Where is the urgency?

Very few ministers of God’s Word are discussing the return of Jesus and the upcoming tribulation. Those who may mention it, in regards mostly to the moral decline of America, do not seem to have a sense of urgency in their messages. Jesus is coming back, folks! Look around you! The signs are EVERYWHERE. The rapture is imminent and just around the corner. This should make ALL of us, not just preachers, have a sense of urgency to spread the Word. If you really believe that what you believe is really real, then now is the time to shout it!

Tis The Season … 2013 by Jack Kelley

My Comments: He makes a very interesting point, though I am nearly certain this apostate church will never go for it. It is ludicrous to upset the status quo and traditions of men. (sarcasm) After all, it is one thing to go to church and profess Christ,  but another entirely to make a spectacle of one’s self by doing something so radical and out of the box. (more sarcasm) Are we playing the harlot when we mix the pagan with the holy?

This article was originally published in November of 2005 when the controversy over the Christmas season was first heating up.  It’s even more relevant today. I’ve expanded and updated it for this holiday season.)

For the customs of the peoples are worthless; they cut a tree out of the forest, and a craftsman shapes it with his chisel. They adorn it with silver and gold; they fasten it with hammer and nails so it will not totter.” (Jeremiah 10:3-4)

A friend once observed that when you see the Christmas decorations begin to go up on Main Street, you know that Thanksgiving must be near. That’s because in the US, Thanksgiving weekend officially kicks off the Christmas season. Special school programs, parties, shopping, all the things Christmas has become these days begin in earnest on the day after Thanksgiving. Please continue this fascinating idea here!

I am a watchman, not a prophet, but still..here are two dreams for your speculation:

I’m going to take a huge leap here and share with you a couple of dreams I have had in the past few weeks. I realized their significance immediately-though the interpretation of one remains unclear to me-but I have hesitated sharing them in a public way because I ask myself “who am I?”.  I consider myself called as a watchman, not a prophet. Despite these dreams, I still do not consider myself a prophet so please don’t think that is what I am saying by sharing these dreams.  I am a stay-at-home-mom who wants to please her Lord, and who fails miserably at it daily I might add, but if the Lord wants me to share this with you then you will receive a blessing. Here they are:

I’ll start with the second one first cause it is the one that has me a little puzzled.

I am at an arena of some sorts. I go through a door that leads me under the bleachers. My dad and daughter are standing there, peeking through people’s feet. I look and see a stage. Standing on the stage is POTUS. My dad makes a comment about how easy it would be for a sniper to get to him from where we watch under the bleachers. I feel uneasy and leave for a moment. When I return, a group of security personnel are calmly escorting my dad out of the building. I rush to get my daughter. He is not handcuffed and he walks with them peacefully. He leans and whispers in my ear, “Tell Sandy and Cathy Red October”.  I think, “like the movie?” but know he is not referring to the Sean Connery film. The dream ends with me trying to text the message to its intended recipients.

I wouldn’t even mention this dream except for the heavy feeling pounding at my brain when I think about it and the cryptic message of “Red October”. I think my dad in the dream is completely irrelevant. He will never say such a thing, be in such a position. I’m unsure of what this dream means, if it even has a meaning, but I present it to you for your speculation.

This next dream I had first and its interpretation has come to me in two stages: the bulk of which was immediate, and then recently other meanings have filtered through. Forgive me, I have no experience with this kind of thing. My dreams are usually completely stupid where I am flying or needing to pee ;).

I am on our screened patio with my son. There is a lioness on the patio with us, pacing. I am nervous, cautious, around the lion but not scared. I do not feel imminent danger, just deep respect for its strength and power. I notice our kitten was outside around our shed. I go out to fetch it. In the shed I discover a sleeping brown bear. I quickly, yet quietly high-tail it back to the patio. The bear awakens and pursues. I make it onto the patio before the bear reaches me. The lion immediately stands by the patio door and growls at the bear. The bear returns the growl. I think to myself, the lion will protect us. I grab my son and we go inside the house. Meanwhile, my husband comes home. He walks right by the bear and lion and stands at the back door of the house waiting for me to unlock it.  I open the door and tell him to get inside. He says he has more stuff out in the truck he needs to get first. I say to him “Are you crazy? Look around! There is a bear and a lion about to get into a fight and they are in your path!” I grab him by the shirt and pull him inside.

This dream immediately segued into its interpretation.  Obviously the lion is the Lion of Judah, or Christ. I am trying to get my lukewarm husband to be aware of the dangers around him. Now as for the bear, upon telling this to my dad he immediately thought the bear represented the world system which is about to meet the wrath of the Lord. However, within the dream interpretation within the dream, I distinctly heard a voice tell me: “Remember the bear represents Russia”.  Since the initial interpretation I have prayed and wondered about the significance of the bear. Obviously Russia is about to go head to head with the Lion of Judah. In my dream, neither had broken through the screen to attack the other but it was understood it was just a matter of time. That screen is about to be shredded.

What events do these dreams relate to? I am not sure specifically but the lion dream certainly suggests Russia plays a big part. The Gog-Magog war of Ezekiel? A “lesser” battle which involves them? I don’t know. Is it significant that it was a lioness instead of a male lion, or just that I recognized it to be a lion?

So there you have it. Thoughts please!