Probation Officers
Philippians
{2:19} But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. {2:20} For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.
{2:21} For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.
{2:22} But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.
{2:23} Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.
{2:24} But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.
{2:25} Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.
{2:26} For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
{2:27} For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
{2:28} I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
{2:29} Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation
{2:30} Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me
My brother, companion in labour, and fellow soldier...messenger, minister
Fellow soldier.
We who are Christ's are His people, His children, we are laborers together, we are soldiers.
Soldiers-
soldier (sol´jer) noun
1. One who serves in an army.
2. An enlisted person or a noncommissioned officer.
3. a. An active, loyal, and militant follower: a soldier in the environmental coalition. b. A trusted follower of an organized crime leader.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
An active, loyal, militant follower. A trusted follower of Jesus.
When a person joins the army they swear to serve their country, their loyalty is to their government. They pledge to obey, to follow the leaders of their country, if they don't then they are traitors. It's easy to define a loyal soldier of the world, easy to know when one is a traitor and when one is loyal. They either defend their country or they oppose it.
As soldiers for Christ we either defend Him or we don't. What exactly are we defending when we are a soldier of Christ's? When we serve Christ? We are loyal to Him and the message He brought to share with the world, a timeless message that will last until He returns because that is His message. Eternal life is real. It was real to Jesus and His followers when He first preached it and it is still real today. The timeless message will last for eternity. Christ came and lived a very powerful, if short life and suffered a horrific death preaching His message the entire time a message His followers were to share with others. Eternity in Christ. We today are soldiers for Christ bringing His message to others. Every soldier has the duty to protect that message, to share it, to pass it on.
The message is that probation is closing for everyone. Probation is closing for us as individuals.
Each of us are on probation from the moment we are aware of the choice we have to believe we are on probation. There is no minimum age limit, or maximum, probation is something we are born into.
What is probation?
probation (pro-bâ´shen) noun
1. A process or period in which a person's fitness, as for membership in a working or social group, is tested.
2. a. Law. The act of suspending the sentence of a person convicted of a criminal offense and granting that person provisional freedom on the promise of good behavior. b. A discharge for a person from commitment as an insane person on condition of continued sanity and of being recommitted upon the reappearance of insanity.
3. A trial period in which a student is given time to try to redeem failing grades or bad conduct.
4. The status of a person on probation.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
We live in probationary time. A time in which we are able to be redeemed through Christ.
If someone says probation is over then they mean the time to find redemption is over- by that point you are either redeemed in Christ or lost to Him.
We have criminals on probation- and that means they are watched, their actions are watched, they are accountable for their behavior during a set period of time and if they break that probation with unacceptable behavior they can be sent to jail. If they are good and behave appropriately during their probationary period then when their probation is up they are free and clear- no jail, no more probation.
We as Christians live in a time of probation and it's call life. This life we have the opportunity to be acceptable in Christ by choosing to follow Him and live for Him and no other- not self, not Satan. Our probation because it is our life means that it is up automatically when we die. We have endless, or rather a lifetime of opportunity to choose Christ- a whole lifetime. Of course we don't know how long we'll live, some have very short lives others very long lives.
When Christ preached His message He preached it loud and clear and that message was of finding eternal life in Him, salvation in Him, reconciliation with the Father in heaven in Him. That message was just and true and will come to pass. When Christ returns there will be people alive, a very few will be alive in Him while the majority will have chosen not to believe in Him. Before Christ returns probation will be closed. There will be a people alive who live when probation that gift of time in which to choose to live for Christ is over and the decision we made before probation closed is the decision we live with.
Just as we don't know when we will die, we don't know when Christ will return exactly but we are given signs. Some people are even given signs of their impending death. Christ will return there is no doubt, and another certainty in life is death- in fact some people say it's the only certainty. We know we will die and at that time we know our probation is up. We have to be ready ALWAYS during this period of probation to have Christ in our lives, believing in Christ accepting His salvation, His forgiveness, His love. We don't know when probation is up and so we need to be ready always and we have to tell others the same. We also have to tell them that time is growing shorter, Christ will return soon and impending death isn't the only end to probation for those living right before Christ returns.
Ready always!
1 Pet. {3:15} But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
Ready always!
We are soldiers for Christ that have to preach that we live in probation, that we all are subject to this probation. We are all guilty, we are all criminals in the eyes of God, all of us sinners and the only way we can survive to live for eternity is during our probation we accept Christ as our Savior daily!
When probation is over whether by death or by Christ's return everyone will have made their choice, no one is exempt from choosing, no one.
As soldiers with Christ we in essence are Christ's probation officers. We have and continue to accept Christ and it is our duty to bring this opportunity to others, our duty.
I thought about this the other day when something I was listening to hit me just right. When I was young I started college with the hope of being a probation officer. That hope wasn't realized for various reasons but God in His wisdom, with a personal irony for me, has made me His probation officer. So maybe I didn't become what I wanted to become in my own way, but Christ in His way gave me exactly what I wanted. So amazing.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior may my daily choice forever be the choice to be His follower and as His follower, His soldier and as His soldier, His probation officer. Give me the voice I need Lord to point to You and only You and Your love and grace, Your mercy, Your forgiveness, life in you forever!
Amen.
7/27/10
Pro 28:14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
Happy is the man that feareth alway…
We are told not to fear but this isn't the fear of being frightened of something but rather fear of God - reverencing Him, respecting His power as our Creator, our Sustainer, our Redeemer. Standing in awe of God.
Do we do this? How do we do this? We come before God and when we do it's in our thoughts, in our mind, it's spiritually- not physically. We don't stand in the presence of God as we would stand in the presence of an earthly king. How many people have stood in the presence of someone and been awed by it, awed by another human being? I can well imagine the star struck feel that awe of being in the presence of someone important, someone popular, someone in demand, how that can make a person feel. You see it all the time on television, you hear about it in the papers, on the news online, it's everywhere. Opportunities to meet your favorite person. You're considered a VIP when you get to meet a famous person face to face, you are given an honor and you acknowledge that honor in various ways, even if one of those ways is by standing there completely speechless. People have various reactions to meeting people they consider famous. Some people faint, some cry, some scream, some jump up and down, others just can't stop smiling, some bow down, some immediately feel the power of the other person and in response feel subservient to that powerful being. The reactions vary but there is no denying that when you hold someone in awe you react when meeting them with that awestruck sense of wonder. You might even have tough guys joking about it as if it doesn't faze them at all, but you can tell it really does by the way they brag about the encounter.
We are told that we are happy if we fear always. Happy if we forever hold God in awe before us. Happy if we forever respect the power of the Lord. We can't allow ourselves to become *used* to God in such a way that we lose that sense of awe for Him. He is our friend, yes, but He is our King, He is our Creator, He is our Savior and deserving more of aw e than any other living thing in existence. He is our Heavenly Father, and is it no wonder the Bible in one of the sacred commandments states we are to honor our mother and father? Respect, honor, awe, reverence-- fear. So many people think it's wonderful when adult children and even younger children get on so well with their parents they're more like friends than ….parents. No matter our ages we should NEVER lose the sense of honor and respect due to our fathers, never! We should never revel in the fact we are friends with our parents over the fact that we should be honoring them and thinking of them more highly than ourselves. Our Heavenly Father will forever and ever be deserving of our fear, forever! Even though we are adopted and beloved as children of His, that does not negate the respect, the reverence due to Him.
Pro 28:14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
When we harden our hearts we become immune to that sense of awe. When we close our hearts off and stop believing that God deserves our reverence, our awe. When we adopt the attitude that there is no reason to reverence our Heavenly Father we will fall in mischief. When we no longer feel the need to honor God with our lives- our lives become pointless, meaningless and anything goes. When we stop reverencing God the Devil steps right in and begins His work on us- mischief and all it's many wiles takes over.
Once we lose respect for God it's very hard to regain it again. While some parents with their many evils and faults may seemingly lose their right to being respected, God will NEVER lose His right for our respect, never. I could argue no parent will either, but I know many people have grown up being abused mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically- and they would probably disagree with me no matter what my argument might be. Some people might believe God has abused them as well, in fact many do blame Him for all sorts of things and they fully believe they are justified in their accusations of Him. Satan uses any and ALL means to keep us from the love of God, we have to step out on faith and believe in God fully, reverencing Him always!
May God bless us and keep us in fear of Him always and forever! May we never come to a place where we believe God no longer deserves to be reverenced, never! By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, by the righteousness of our Redeemer, in His all encompassing Love now and forever!
Amen.
Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
You don't listen to me so why bother calling me your Lord? Seriously, we have to LISTEN to our Lord or He's NOT our Lord. It's really that simple, but we want to make it all complicated. We want to twist things so that people get all confused. There are thousands of religions and more and more growing each day, I'm not kidding. People who don't believe what the *big* churches are saying are branching off into their own little groups forming their own little churches with their own beliefs. What the bottom line really is, we have to listen to our Lord. We have to be followers of our Lord, true followers.
A true follower of someone believes in them, has faith in them, and will do what they say to do. We like to call that brain washing today don't we? We don't like people *following* people, or ideas that aren't mainstream. Every four years we have a presidential election and people choose to follow the candidate for president they like best and then begin to support them, even if it's with a single vote on election day, they are showing their support of that person- doing what that person wants them to do- vote for them. When a person follows something they are labeled. When a whole lot of people follow something it becomes acceptable. When a few people follow something it's more cultish and less acceptable.
Our Lord wants us to do the things He says- then we can call Him Lord, Lord.
We can find out what the Lord wants us to do by reading His word. We won't get a daily memo, we won't get a chore list, we won't get a telephone call, we're not going to be tweeted by the Lord. The Lord will not show up on facebook and post a personal message for you. We have to seek HIM.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
We have to ask to know the will of the Lord. We have to seek to know the will of the Lord. Our heart's desire has to be to know the will of the Lord and when we know it, follow it.
Many people already know what the Lord would have them do.
Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Most people know what Jesus means when He says this… 'and do not the things which I say'. Most people know what those *things* are. We can't lie and say we don't know. We know. We've read about them. Pick up Your Bible and read one of the Gospels and you'll know. So if we do know, why don't we do the things Jesus says to do? Why?
Self often gets in the way of selflessness and therein lies a big part of our problem.
A lot of time, simply because I cannot say all the time, but a lot of time it's that simple to understand. Self gets in the way of selflessness and Jesus is selfless and wants us to be selfless. We are not selfless. One of our BIGGEST problems is selfishness, the world revolves around selfishness and it's often disguised as benevolence. A show of selflessness, but that's all it really is. We can deceive ourselves as well, many will be deceived. Many who think they are followers of our Lord really aren't followers at all. I know I talk about this a lot, but it must be something close to my heart- the fear of being among those who call out Lord, Lord and He turns to them and tells them He never knew them. God please forbid that from happening to me. I want to know my Lord! I want my Lord to know me! I want to be a true follower of my Lord and do as He says.
By His grace, by His love, through His mercy!!!! In HIS righteousness, now and forever!
Amen.
7/27/11
Prophecy is
amazing. It reminds me a bit about what Christ said about parables-
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto
him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because
it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them
it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be
given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall
be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables:
because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they
understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy
of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and
seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross,
and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any
time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they
see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many
prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and
have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard
them.
Why speak in
parables, why not speak plainly?
Because it's
given to some to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven- but to others it's
not given.
And that sounds
awful doesn't it? Like God is selecting a few and offering them eternal life
but not others, which isn't true at all!
Jesus went on to
say- 'because they seeing - see not; and hearing they- hear not, neither do
they understand'
Jesus also added-
'for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and
their eyes they have closed- lest
at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
should understand with their hear, and should be converted and I should heal
them.'
PEOPLE don't want
healing! PEOPLE don't want to hear! PEOPLE don't want to see! People don't want
to be converted from their evil ways! It's the choice people make, not God's
choice. God is willing to heal, willing that all would come to Him, but they
won't. Sadly, they won't.
It's the same for
prophecy- there can be understanding, pieces can fit together. Logically things
can follow order and make sense but to most people it is all just jumbled
nonsense that points to the end of days and only then will it all come to
pass. The facts don't concern them
because it's just too hard to understand it all. Then you'll get those who piece things
together somewhat and do so differently than others and so discount another's
belief. I know there are many, many people out there that won't agree at all
with the interpretations I've posted and that's fine. We all have to follow how
God leads us, every single one of us. I'm not writing what I'm writing to
convince others of anything. I feel compelled by God on my walk with Christ to
study prophecy and that's what I'm doing. I just hope and pray that I'm not
deceived, that the Holy Spirit will guide my studying.
Yesterday we
studied from the reign of Julius, to Augustus, and then to Tiberius Caesar who
lived when our Savior was killed.
All the while we're talking about Tiberius we are also talking about the
Roman Empire which is the big picture. We cannot separate any of these rulers
from the Roman Kingdom- never. So while the prophecy is giving us details it is
NEVER leaving the main kingdoms that were first predicted by Daniel interpreting
Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
Do you remember
how over and over the prophecy is revisiting the same empires- growing in detail
each time. Well we have another case of that here.
We know that
Augustus Caesar was the man who solidified the Roman Empire.
Remember this---
Gaius Julius
Caesar Augustus-- is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he
ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus,
he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar in 44 BC via
his last will and testament, and between then and 27 BC was officially named
Gaius Julius Caesar.
Augustus was
ruling when Rome (HE) worked deceitfully, becoming strong with a small
people.
Dan 11:23 And after the league made with him he
shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a
small people.
'The Battle of
Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic.
It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark
Antony and Cleopatra VII. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the
Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, at the Roman province of Epirus vetus in
Greece. Octavian's fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while
Antony's fleet was supported by the ships of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic
Egypt.
Octavian's
victory enabled him to consolidate his power over Rome and its dominions. To
that end, he adopted the title of Princeps ("first citizen") and some years
after the victory was awarded the title of Augustus by the Roman Senate. This
became the name by which he was known in later times. As Augustus, he would
retain the trappings of a restored Republican leader; however, historians
generally view this consolidation of power and the adoption of these honorifics
as the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.[1]'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium>
This victory by
Augustus (under the name of Octavian) CONSOLIDATED his power over Rome and its
dominions.
'Thus, Octavian's
victory at the Battle of Actium gave him sole and uncontested control of "Mare
Nostrum" (Our Sea i.e. the Roman Mediterannean) and he became "Augustus Caesar"
and the "first citizen" of Rome. This victory, consolidating his power over
every Roman institution, marked the transition of Rome from Republic to Empire.
Egypt's final surrender following Cleopatra's death also marks the final demise
of both the Hellenistic Age and the Ptolemaic Kingdom'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium>
'Worldwide
consequences
Shakespeare
turned the story of Antony and Cleopatra into a famous play, but historically,
the Battle of Actium had even more important consequences.
Octavian, for his
part, remained standing as the sole ruler of Rome in a time when the Republic
was hanging on by a thread. Just a few years later, he was renamed Augustus and
declared divine head of the new Roman Empire, a system that would last a
further 400 years and engulf much of Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East
and Africa under its rule.
Rome's influence
over the language, religion and architecture of the 2.2 million square miles it
once controlled lasts until this day.
By killing Julius
Caesar and Cleopatra's son Caesarion, Octavian also effectively ended a
4,000-year tradition in Egypt. There would not be another true pharaoh in that
country, which was absorbed under the banner of the empire. '
Pasted
from <http://www.livescience.com/2390-battle-actium-changed-world.html>
NOTICE THIS--
'... divine head
of the new Roman Empire, a system that would last a further 400 years and engulf
much of Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East and Africa under its
rule'
And this--
'Before an
assembly thus modelled and prepared, Augustus pronounced
a studied
oration, which displayed his patriotism, and disguised his
ambition. "He
lamented, yet excused, his past conduct. Filial piety had
required at his
hands the revenge of his father's murder; the humanity
of his own nature
had sometimes given way to the stern laws of
necessity, and to
a forced connection with two unworthy colleagues:
as long as Antony
lived, the republic forbade him to abandon her to
a degenerate
Roman, and a barbarian queen. He was now at liberty to
satisfy his duty
and his inclination. He solemnly restored the senate
and people to all
their ancient rights; and wished only to mingle with
the crowd of his
fellow-citizens, and to share the blessings which he
had obtained for
his country." [4]
[Footnote 4: Dion
(l. liii. p. 698) gives us a prolix and bombast speech
on this great
occasion. I have borrowed from Suetonius and Tacitus the
general language
of Augustus.]
It would require
the pen of Tacitus (if Tacitus had assisted at this
assembly) to
describe the various emotions of the senate, those that
were suppressed,
and those that were affected. It was dangerous to
trust the
sincerity of Augustus; to seem to distrust it was still more
dangerous. The
respective advantages of monarchy and a republic have
often divided
speculative inquirers; the present greatness of the Roman
state, the
corruption of manners, and the license of the soldiers,
supplied new
arguments to the advocates of monarchy; and these general
views of
government were again warped by the hopes and fears of each
individual.
Amidst this confusion of sentiments, the answer of
the senate was
unanimous and decisive. They refused to accept the
resignation of
Augustus; they conjured him not to desert the republic,
which he had
saved. After a decent resistance, the crafty tyrant
submitted to the
orders of the senate; and consented to receive the
government of the
provinces, and the general command of the Roman
armies, under the
well-known names of Proconsul and Imperator. [5] But
he would receive
them only for ten years. Even before the expiration
of that period,
he hope that the wounds of civil discord would be
completely
healed, and that the republic, restored to its pristine
health and vigor,
would no longer require the dangerous interposition
of so
extraordinary a magistrate. The memory
of this comedy, repeated
several
times during the life of Augustus, was preserved to the last
ages
of the empire…'
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/731/pg731.txt
Dan 11:23 And after the league made with him he
shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a
small people.
This deceit was
REAL, very, very real in the rule of Augustus!
That Rome became
strong with a small people is a reality--
'Peregrinus was
the term used during the early Roman empire, from 30 BC to 212 AD, to denote a
free provincial subject of the empire who was not a Roman citizen. Peregrini
constituted the vast majority of the empire's inhabitants in the 1st and 2nd
centuries AD. In 212 AD, all free inhabitants of the Empire were granted
citizenship by the constitutio Antoniniana, abolishing the status of
peregrinus.
The Latin
peregrinus "foreigner, one from abroad" is a derivation from the adverb peregre
"from abroad", composed of per- "abroad" and agri, the locative of ager "field,
country". During the Roman Republic, the term peregrinus simply denoted any
person who did not hold Roman citizenship, full or partial, whether that person
was under Roman rule or not. Technically, this remained the case during the
Imperial era. But in practice the term became limited to subjects of the empire,
with inhabitants of regions outside the empire's borders denoted barbari
(barbarians).'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrinus_(Roman)>
People we were
NOT born Roman, made up the majority of ROME! Soldiers that fought for others
gave their allegiance to Rome by being made Roman citizens.
They took a few and made MANY! He became strong from those people, very,
very strong.
*
This is enough
for tonight, little bit by little bit to digest, to read over and over and
compare to Scripture. To go delve
deep into our libraries, into historical sources. Do these fit? Does this paint
the picture being portrayed? Does it make logical sense? We have so much to
learn, so much to study and to understand ALL by the GRACE of GOD!
May God help us! May God guide us always!!!
In His LOVE!
Amen!
{2:19} But I trust in the Lord Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you, that I also may be of good comfort, when I know your state. {2:20} For I have no man likeminded, who will naturally care for your state.
{2:21} For all seek their own, not the things which are Jesus Christ’s.
{2:22} But ye know the proof of him, that, as a son with the father, he hath served with me in the gospel.
{2:23} Him therefore I hope to send presently, so soon as I shall see how it will go with me.
{2:24} But I trust in the Lord that I also myself shall come shortly.
{2:25} Yet I supposed it necessary to send to you Epaphroditus, my brother, and companion in labour, and fellow soldier, but your messenger, and he that ministered to my wants.
{2:26} For he longed after you all, and was full of heaviness, because that ye had heard that he had been sick.
{2:27} For indeed he was sick nigh unto death: but God had mercy on him; and not on him only, but on me also, lest I should have sorrow upon sorrow.
{2:28} I sent him therefore the more carefully, that, when ye see him again, ye may rejoice, and that I may be the less sorrowful.
{2:29} Receive him therefore in the Lord with all gladness; and hold such in reputation
{2:30} Because for the work of Christ he was nigh unto death, not regarding his life, to supply your lack of service toward me
My brother, companion in labour, and fellow soldier...messenger, minister
Fellow soldier.
We who are Christ's are His people, His children, we are laborers together, we are soldiers.
Soldiers-
soldier (sol´jer) noun
1. One who serves in an army.
2. An enlisted person or a noncommissioned officer.
3. a. An active, loyal, and militant follower: a soldier in the environmental coalition. b. A trusted follower of an organized crime leader.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
An active, loyal, militant follower. A trusted follower of Jesus.
When a person joins the army they swear to serve their country, their loyalty is to their government. They pledge to obey, to follow the leaders of their country, if they don't then they are traitors. It's easy to define a loyal soldier of the world, easy to know when one is a traitor and when one is loyal. They either defend their country or they oppose it.
As soldiers for Christ we either defend Him or we don't. What exactly are we defending when we are a soldier of Christ's? When we serve Christ? We are loyal to Him and the message He brought to share with the world, a timeless message that will last until He returns because that is His message. Eternal life is real. It was real to Jesus and His followers when He first preached it and it is still real today. The timeless message will last for eternity. Christ came and lived a very powerful, if short life and suffered a horrific death preaching His message the entire time a message His followers were to share with others. Eternity in Christ. We today are soldiers for Christ bringing His message to others. Every soldier has the duty to protect that message, to share it, to pass it on.
The message is that probation is closing for everyone. Probation is closing for us as individuals.
Each of us are on probation from the moment we are aware of the choice we have to believe we are on probation. There is no minimum age limit, or maximum, probation is something we are born into.
What is probation?
probation (pro-bâ´shen) noun
1. A process or period in which a person's fitness, as for membership in a working or social group, is tested.
2. a. Law. The act of suspending the sentence of a person convicted of a criminal offense and granting that person provisional freedom on the promise of good behavior. b. A discharge for a person from commitment as an insane person on condition of continued sanity and of being recommitted upon the reappearance of insanity.
3. A trial period in which a student is given time to try to redeem failing grades or bad conduct.
4. The status of a person on probation.
Excerpted from The American Heritage® Dictionary
We live in probationary time. A time in which we are able to be redeemed through Christ.
If someone says probation is over then they mean the time to find redemption is over- by that point you are either redeemed in Christ or lost to Him.
We have criminals on probation- and that means they are watched, their actions are watched, they are accountable for their behavior during a set period of time and if they break that probation with unacceptable behavior they can be sent to jail. If they are good and behave appropriately during their probationary period then when their probation is up they are free and clear- no jail, no more probation.
We as Christians live in a time of probation and it's call life. This life we have the opportunity to be acceptable in Christ by choosing to follow Him and live for Him and no other- not self, not Satan. Our probation because it is our life means that it is up automatically when we die. We have endless, or rather a lifetime of opportunity to choose Christ- a whole lifetime. Of course we don't know how long we'll live, some have very short lives others very long lives.
When Christ preached His message He preached it loud and clear and that message was of finding eternal life in Him, salvation in Him, reconciliation with the Father in heaven in Him. That message was just and true and will come to pass. When Christ returns there will be people alive, a very few will be alive in Him while the majority will have chosen not to believe in Him. Before Christ returns probation will be closed. There will be a people alive who live when probation that gift of time in which to choose to live for Christ is over and the decision we made before probation closed is the decision we live with.
Just as we don't know when we will die, we don't know when Christ will return exactly but we are given signs. Some people are even given signs of their impending death. Christ will return there is no doubt, and another certainty in life is death- in fact some people say it's the only certainty. We know we will die and at that time we know our probation is up. We have to be ready ALWAYS during this period of probation to have Christ in our lives, believing in Christ accepting His salvation, His forgiveness, His love. We don't know when probation is up and so we need to be ready always and we have to tell others the same. We also have to tell them that time is growing shorter, Christ will return soon and impending death isn't the only end to probation for those living right before Christ returns.
Ready always!
1 Pet. {3:15} But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and [be] ready always to [give] an answer to every man that asketh you a reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear.
Ready always!
We are soldiers for Christ that have to preach that we live in probation, that we all are subject to this probation. We are all guilty, we are all criminals in the eyes of God, all of us sinners and the only way we can survive to live for eternity is during our probation we accept Christ as our Savior daily!
When probation is over whether by death or by Christ's return everyone will have made their choice, no one is exempt from choosing, no one.
As soldiers with Christ we in essence are Christ's probation officers. We have and continue to accept Christ and it is our duty to bring this opportunity to others, our duty.
I thought about this the other day when something I was listening to hit me just right. When I was young I started college with the hope of being a probation officer. That hope wasn't realized for various reasons but God in His wisdom, with a personal irony for me, has made me His probation officer. So maybe I didn't become what I wanted to become in my own way, but Christ in His way gave me exactly what I wanted. So amazing.
By the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ our Lord and our Savior may my daily choice forever be the choice to be His follower and as His follower, His soldier and as His soldier, His probation officer. Give me the voice I need Lord to point to You and only You and Your love and grace, Your mercy, Your forgiveness, life in you forever!
Amen.
7/27/10
Pro 28:14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
Happy is the man that feareth alway…
We are told not to fear but this isn't the fear of being frightened of something but rather fear of God - reverencing Him, respecting His power as our Creator, our Sustainer, our Redeemer. Standing in awe of God.
Do we do this? How do we do this? We come before God and when we do it's in our thoughts, in our mind, it's spiritually- not physically. We don't stand in the presence of God as we would stand in the presence of an earthly king. How many people have stood in the presence of someone and been awed by it, awed by another human being? I can well imagine the star struck feel that awe of being in the presence of someone important, someone popular, someone in demand, how that can make a person feel. You see it all the time on television, you hear about it in the papers, on the news online, it's everywhere. Opportunities to meet your favorite person. You're considered a VIP when you get to meet a famous person face to face, you are given an honor and you acknowledge that honor in various ways, even if one of those ways is by standing there completely speechless. People have various reactions to meeting people they consider famous. Some people faint, some cry, some scream, some jump up and down, others just can't stop smiling, some bow down, some immediately feel the power of the other person and in response feel subservient to that powerful being. The reactions vary but there is no denying that when you hold someone in awe you react when meeting them with that awestruck sense of wonder. You might even have tough guys joking about it as if it doesn't faze them at all, but you can tell it really does by the way they brag about the encounter.
We are told that we are happy if we fear always. Happy if we forever hold God in awe before us. Happy if we forever respect the power of the Lord. We can't allow ourselves to become *used* to God in such a way that we lose that sense of awe for Him. He is our friend, yes, but He is our King, He is our Creator, He is our Savior and deserving more of aw e than any other living thing in existence. He is our Heavenly Father, and is it no wonder the Bible in one of the sacred commandments states we are to honor our mother and father? Respect, honor, awe, reverence-- fear. So many people think it's wonderful when adult children and even younger children get on so well with their parents they're more like friends than ….parents. No matter our ages we should NEVER lose the sense of honor and respect due to our fathers, never! We should never revel in the fact we are friends with our parents over the fact that we should be honoring them and thinking of them more highly than ourselves. Our Heavenly Father will forever and ever be deserving of our fear, forever! Even though we are adopted and beloved as children of His, that does not negate the respect, the reverence due to Him.
Pro 28:14 Happy is the man that feareth alway: but he that hardeneth his heart shall fall into mischief.
When we harden our hearts we become immune to that sense of awe. When we close our hearts off and stop believing that God deserves our reverence, our awe. When we adopt the attitude that there is no reason to reverence our Heavenly Father we will fall in mischief. When we no longer feel the need to honor God with our lives- our lives become pointless, meaningless and anything goes. When we stop reverencing God the Devil steps right in and begins His work on us- mischief and all it's many wiles takes over.
Once we lose respect for God it's very hard to regain it again. While some parents with their many evils and faults may seemingly lose their right to being respected, God will NEVER lose His right for our respect, never. I could argue no parent will either, but I know many people have grown up being abused mentally, emotionally, spiritually, and physically- and they would probably disagree with me no matter what my argument might be. Some people might believe God has abused them as well, in fact many do blame Him for all sorts of things and they fully believe they are justified in their accusations of Him. Satan uses any and ALL means to keep us from the love of God, we have to step out on faith and believe in God fully, reverencing Him always!
May God bless us and keep us in fear of Him always and forever! May we never come to a place where we believe God no longer deserves to be reverenced, never! By the grace and mercy of our Lord and Savior, by the righteousness of our Redeemer, in His all encompassing Love now and forever!
Amen.
Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
You don't listen to me so why bother calling me your Lord? Seriously, we have to LISTEN to our Lord or He's NOT our Lord. It's really that simple, but we want to make it all complicated. We want to twist things so that people get all confused. There are thousands of religions and more and more growing each day, I'm not kidding. People who don't believe what the *big* churches are saying are branching off into their own little groups forming their own little churches with their own beliefs. What the bottom line really is, we have to listen to our Lord. We have to be followers of our Lord, true followers.
A true follower of someone believes in them, has faith in them, and will do what they say to do. We like to call that brain washing today don't we? We don't like people *following* people, or ideas that aren't mainstream. Every four years we have a presidential election and people choose to follow the candidate for president they like best and then begin to support them, even if it's with a single vote on election day, they are showing their support of that person- doing what that person wants them to do- vote for them. When a person follows something they are labeled. When a whole lot of people follow something it becomes acceptable. When a few people follow something it's more cultish and less acceptable.
Our Lord wants us to do the things He says- then we can call Him Lord, Lord.
We can find out what the Lord wants us to do by reading His word. We won't get a daily memo, we won't get a chore list, we won't get a telephone call, we're not going to be tweeted by the Lord. The Lord will not show up on facebook and post a personal message for you. We have to seek HIM.
Mat 6:33 But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
Mat 7:7 Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you:
We have to ask to know the will of the Lord. We have to seek to know the will of the Lord. Our heart's desire has to be to know the will of the Lord and when we know it, follow it.
Many people already know what the Lord would have them do.
Luk 6:46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say?
Most people know what Jesus means when He says this… 'and do not the things which I say'. Most people know what those *things* are. We can't lie and say we don't know. We know. We've read about them. Pick up Your Bible and read one of the Gospels and you'll know. So if we do know, why don't we do the things Jesus says to do? Why?
Self often gets in the way of selflessness and therein lies a big part of our problem.
A lot of time, simply because I cannot say all the time, but a lot of time it's that simple to understand. Self gets in the way of selflessness and Jesus is selfless and wants us to be selfless. We are not selfless. One of our BIGGEST problems is selfishness, the world revolves around selfishness and it's often disguised as benevolence. A show of selflessness, but that's all it really is. We can deceive ourselves as well, many will be deceived. Many who think they are followers of our Lord really aren't followers at all. I know I talk about this a lot, but it must be something close to my heart- the fear of being among those who call out Lord, Lord and He turns to them and tells them He never knew them. God please forbid that from happening to me. I want to know my Lord! I want my Lord to know me! I want to be a true follower of my Lord and do as He says.
By His grace, by His love, through His mercy!!!! In HIS righteousness, now and forever!
Amen.
7/27/11
Prophecy is
amazing. It reminds me a bit about what Christ said about parables-
Mat 13:10 And the disciples came, and said unto
him, Why speakest thou unto them in parables?
Mat 13:11 He answered and said unto them, Because
it is given unto you to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven, but to them
it is not given.
Mat 13:12 For whosoever hath, to him shall be
given, and he shall have more abundance: but whosoever hath not, from him shall
be taken away even that he hath.
Mat 13:13 Therefore speak I to them in parables:
because they seeing see not; and hearing they hear not, neither do they
understand.
Mat 13:14 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy
of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and
seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:
Mat 13:15 For this people's heart is waxed gross,
and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any
time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and should
understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Mat 13:16 But blessed are your eyes, for they
see: and your ears, for they hear.
Mat 13:17 For verily I say unto you, That many
prophets and righteous men have desired to see those things which ye see, and
have not seen them; and to hear those things which ye hear, and have not heard
them.
Why speak in
parables, why not speak plainly?
Because it's
given to some to know the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven- but to others it's
not given.
And that sounds
awful doesn't it? Like God is selecting a few and offering them eternal life
but not others, which isn't true at all!
Jesus went on to
say- 'because they seeing - see not; and hearing they- hear not, neither do
they understand'
Jesus also added-
'for this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and
their eyes they have closed- lest
at any time they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and
should understand with their hear, and should be converted and I should heal
them.'
PEOPLE don't want
healing! PEOPLE don't want to hear! PEOPLE don't want to see! People don't want
to be converted from their evil ways! It's the choice people make, not God's
choice. God is willing to heal, willing that all would come to Him, but they
won't. Sadly, they won't.
It's the same for
prophecy- there can be understanding, pieces can fit together. Logically things
can follow order and make sense but to most people it is all just jumbled
nonsense that points to the end of days and only then will it all come to
pass. The facts don't concern them
because it's just too hard to understand it all. Then you'll get those who piece things
together somewhat and do so differently than others and so discount another's
belief. I know there are many, many people out there that won't agree at all
with the interpretations I've posted and that's fine. We all have to follow how
God leads us, every single one of us. I'm not writing what I'm writing to
convince others of anything. I feel compelled by God on my walk with Christ to
study prophecy and that's what I'm doing. I just hope and pray that I'm not
deceived, that the Holy Spirit will guide my studying.
Yesterday we
studied from the reign of Julius, to Augustus, and then to Tiberius Caesar who
lived when our Savior was killed.
All the while we're talking about Tiberius we are also talking about the
Roman Empire which is the big picture. We cannot separate any of these rulers
from the Roman Kingdom- never. So while the prophecy is giving us details it is
NEVER leaving the main kingdoms that were first predicted by Daniel interpreting
Nebuchadnezzar's dream.
Do you remember
how over and over the prophecy is revisiting the same empires- growing in detail
each time. Well we have another case of that here.
We know that
Augustus Caesar was the man who solidified the Roman Empire.
Remember this---
Gaius Julius
Caesar Augustus-- is considered the first emperor of the Roman Empire, which he
ruled alone from 27 BC until his death in AD 14. Born Gaius Octavius Thurinus,
he was adopted posthumously by his great-uncle Gaius Julius Caesar in 44 BC via
his last will and testament, and between then and 27 BC was officially named
Gaius Julius Caesar.
Augustus was
ruling when Rome (HE) worked deceitfully, becoming strong with a small
people.
Dan 11:23 And after the league made with him he
shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a
small people.
'The Battle of
Actium was the decisive confrontation of the Final War of the Roman Republic.
It was fought between the forces of Octavian and the combined forces of Mark
Antony and Cleopatra VII. The battle took place on 2 September 31 BC, on the
Ionian Sea near the city of Actium, at the Roman province of Epirus vetus in
Greece. Octavian's fleet was commanded by Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, while
Antony's fleet was supported by the ships of Queen Cleopatra of Ptolemaic
Egypt.
Octavian's
victory enabled him to consolidate his power over Rome and its dominions. To
that end, he adopted the title of Princeps ("first citizen") and some years
after the victory was awarded the title of Augustus by the Roman Senate. This
became the name by which he was known in later times. As Augustus, he would
retain the trappings of a restored Republican leader; however, historians
generally view this consolidation of power and the adoption of these honorifics
as the end of the Roman Republic and the beginning of the Roman Empire.[1]'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium>
This victory by
Augustus (under the name of Octavian) CONSOLIDATED his power over Rome and its
dominions.
'Thus, Octavian's
victory at the Battle of Actium gave him sole and uncontested control of "Mare
Nostrum" (Our Sea i.e. the Roman Mediterannean) and he became "Augustus Caesar"
and the "first citizen" of Rome. This victory, consolidating his power over
every Roman institution, marked the transition of Rome from Republic to Empire.
Egypt's final surrender following Cleopatra's death also marks the final demise
of both the Hellenistic Age and the Ptolemaic Kingdom'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Actium>
'Worldwide
consequences
Shakespeare
turned the story of Antony and Cleopatra into a famous play, but historically,
the Battle of Actium had even more important consequences.
Octavian, for his
part, remained standing as the sole ruler of Rome in a time when the Republic
was hanging on by a thread. Just a few years later, he was renamed Augustus and
declared divine head of the new Roman Empire, a system that would last a
further 400 years and engulf much of Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East
and Africa under its rule.
Rome's influence
over the language, religion and architecture of the 2.2 million square miles it
once controlled lasts until this day.
By killing Julius
Caesar and Cleopatra's son Caesarion, Octavian also effectively ended a
4,000-year tradition in Egypt. There would not be another true pharaoh in that
country, which was absorbed under the banner of the empire. '
Pasted
from <http://www.livescience.com/2390-battle-actium-changed-world.html>
NOTICE THIS--
'... divine head
of the new Roman Empire, a system that would last a further 400 years and engulf
much of Europe, as well as parts of the Middle East and Africa under its
rule'
And this--
'Before an
assembly thus modelled and prepared, Augustus pronounced
a studied
oration, which displayed his patriotism, and disguised his
ambition. "He
lamented, yet excused, his past conduct. Filial piety had
required at his
hands the revenge of his father's murder; the humanity
of his own nature
had sometimes given way to the stern laws of
necessity, and to
a forced connection with two unworthy colleagues:
as long as Antony
lived, the republic forbade him to abandon her to
a degenerate
Roman, and a barbarian queen. He was now at liberty to
satisfy his duty
and his inclination. He solemnly restored the senate
and people to all
their ancient rights; and wished only to mingle with
the crowd of his
fellow-citizens, and to share the blessings which he
had obtained for
his country." [4]
[Footnote 4: Dion
(l. liii. p. 698) gives us a prolix and bombast speech
on this great
occasion. I have borrowed from Suetonius and Tacitus the
general language
of Augustus.]
It would require
the pen of Tacitus (if Tacitus had assisted at this
assembly) to
describe the various emotions of the senate, those that
were suppressed,
and those that were affected. It was dangerous to
trust the
sincerity of Augustus; to seem to distrust it was still more
dangerous. The
respective advantages of monarchy and a republic have
often divided
speculative inquirers; the present greatness of the Roman
state, the
corruption of manners, and the license of the soldiers,
supplied new
arguments to the advocates of monarchy; and these general
views of
government were again warped by the hopes and fears of each
individual.
Amidst this confusion of sentiments, the answer of
the senate was
unanimous and decisive. They refused to accept the
resignation of
Augustus; they conjured him not to desert the republic,
which he had
saved. After a decent resistance, the crafty tyrant
submitted to the
orders of the senate; and consented to receive the
government of the
provinces, and the general command of the Roman
armies, under the
well-known names of Proconsul and Imperator. [5] But
he would receive
them only for ten years. Even before the expiration
of that period,
he hope that the wounds of civil discord would be
completely
healed, and that the republic, restored to its pristine
health and vigor,
would no longer require the dangerous interposition
of so
extraordinary a magistrate. The memory
of this comedy, repeated
several
times during the life of Augustus, was preserved to the last
ages
of the empire…'
http://www.gutenberg.org/cache/epub/731/pg731.txt
Dan 11:23 And after the league made with him he
shall work deceitfully: for he shall come up, and shall become strong with a
small people.
This deceit was
REAL, very, very real in the rule of Augustus!
That Rome became
strong with a small people is a reality--
'Peregrinus was
the term used during the early Roman empire, from 30 BC to 212 AD, to denote a
free provincial subject of the empire who was not a Roman citizen. Peregrini
constituted the vast majority of the empire's inhabitants in the 1st and 2nd
centuries AD. In 212 AD, all free inhabitants of the Empire were granted
citizenship by the constitutio Antoniniana, abolishing the status of
peregrinus.
The Latin
peregrinus "foreigner, one from abroad" is a derivation from the adverb peregre
"from abroad", composed of per- "abroad" and agri, the locative of ager "field,
country". During the Roman Republic, the term peregrinus simply denoted any
person who did not hold Roman citizenship, full or partial, whether that person
was under Roman rule or not. Technically, this remained the case during the
Imperial era. But in practice the term became limited to subjects of the empire,
with inhabitants of regions outside the empire's borders denoted barbari
(barbarians).'
Pasted
from <http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peregrinus_(Roman)>
People we were
NOT born Roman, made up the majority of ROME! Soldiers that fought for others
gave their allegiance to Rome by being made Roman citizens.
They took a few and made MANY! He became strong from those people, very,
very strong.
*
This is enough
for tonight, little bit by little bit to digest, to read over and over and
compare to Scripture. To go delve
deep into our libraries, into historical sources. Do these fit? Does this paint
the picture being portrayed? Does it make logical sense? We have so much to
learn, so much to study and to understand ALL by the GRACE of GOD!
May God help us! May God guide us always!!!
In His LOVE!
Amen!