Self-sacrificing stars

 

Dan 12:3

Those who are wise will shine like the brightness of the heavens, and those who lead many to righteousness, like the stars for ever and ever.

Daniel compares believers in the end-times to stars, shining brightly in the very dark world which will then surround them. Paul and Timothy do the same in Phil 2:15 so that you may become blameless and pure, “children of God without fault in a warped and crooked generation.” Then you will shine among them like stars in the sky. Even in Revelation, John sees Jesus holding seven stars in His hand, and He explains to him in Rev 1:20 This is the meaning of the mystery of the seven stars you saw in my right hand and the seven gold lampstands: The seven stars are the angels (messengers of God, i.e. pastors/leaders) of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches.

Who of us have not been fascinated when looking up at the night sky and seeing those millions of stars flickering there! Few of us realize how they get to shine. Deep inside the star, temperatures and pressures are so high that hydrogen atoms collide and fuse, releasing energy. The energy produced in the core travels outward through the star's layers, eventually emerging as heat and light. The problem is that hydrogen can be depleted, and stars may then burn heavier elements to keep shining, but as these are also used up, the star will eventually die. A star therefore lives by giving of itself until there is nothing left to give - a self-sacrificial life indeed!

We recently celebrated Purim, and in that narrative we find a perfect example of a self-sacrificing star. Hadassah was the orphan girl who was chosen to be the Queen of Persia. Hadassah is the Hebrew word for myrtle, and the flowers of the myrtle tree look like stars. She changed her name to Esther when she was taken into the King’s harem, and Esther means Star!

But it was only when she decided to sacrifice her own life to save her people that she became the star she was born to be.

The implication for us as end-time believers is clear - in order to live and shine as heavenly lights, we will have to become living sacrifices, existing only to do the will of our heavenly Father.

Pearls to ponder:

If we live to selfishly keep our lives, we will dwell in darkness. But if we live to give our lives to others, we will become lights that shine in that darkness – like the stars! So, choose each day to live as a living sacrifice, to die to self and follow God only. When God instructs us to do something, let us imitate Esther and say, “If I perish, I perish, but this I have to do!” Mordechai’s words echo down through the centuries, giving us hope and clarity: You were born for such a time as this. God planned for you to live at this exact time in history – you will not fail!

Born for this

When love rebukes

 Matthew 23:37

O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones God’s messengers! How often I have wanted to gather your children together as a hen protects her chicks beneath her wings, but you wouldn’t let me.

We encounter a side of Jesus here in Matthew 23 that does not fit well into our modern theology of “Love all people into the Kingdom and do not judge”. Especially when you consider the fact that He is addressing the religious leaders of His day.

The issues Jesus points out here were not said in polite, soft-spoken words, intended not to offend. Oh no, we see many of His accusations given with exclamation marks, boldly pointing out that they were leading the flock astray with their own sinful and completely wrong applications of what the words of God intended.

We see Jesus accusing them of shutting the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces because they are pretenders (teaching one law and then not keeping it themselves). They are doing all their works only to be seen of men. He calls them blind fools because they make distinctions between different objects people swear by, giving them a corrupt way to opt out of keeping their word. They are blind guides, leading people to concentrate on keeping outward minor details of religious rituals instead of tending to their inside holiness. He even refers to them as serpents and children of vipers, to my mind referring to the fact that they were led by the Kundalini spirit (a curled up snake at the base of the spine imitating the Holy Spirit), which was empowered and given access to them through their dabbling into the occultic practices of the mystical teachings of Kabbalah. (These teachings were orally transmitted down through the centuries). This is why He said in John 8:44 You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father’s desires.

 Finally, He accuses them of murdering all the prophets who came before and even those who would still come. Jesus ends off His emotional speech by declaring their righteous punishment in verse 36 - I assure you and most solemnly say to you, [the judgment for] all these things [these vile and murderous deeds] will come on this generation.

But Jesus has not finished speaking yet. In tears, He utters the words quoted above, about His desire to gather His people under His wings, showing that the reason for His rebuke against the leaders was because of His deep love for them, a love that wanted them to repent and turn back towards God!

Pearls to ponder:

Think about the picture of a hen gathering her chicks: They feel safe and happy; part of a blessed community. They know love and grow in a healthy way; all the while being taught the correct way to go about life. This is what Jesus wants to do for you – are you willing?

Jerusalem

Adam, where are you?

 Gen 3:9

Then the LORD God called to Adam and said to him, “Where are you?”

As parents, we are often confronted with children who have transgressed in some way or other. And I use the word transgress deliberately, as it conveys the meaning that they knew the rules, and yet decided to disobey.

Our reaction normally depends on factors like the age of the child; the amount of sleep we have had; our stress levels on any given day! And I know through experience with my own children that there probably were a few instances in the past where our reaction was less than, shall we say, optimal? Maybe it came out as:

“What on earth have you done!”

“Did I not specifically tell you NOT to!”

“Where are your ears – why have you stopped using them?!”

But not God. We find our Heavenly Father - knowing full well how Adam and Eve have deliberately chosen to disobey His one and only negative command (not to eat from the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil) - walking toward them and asking: “Where are you?” Choosing to repair the relationship rather than accusing them and meting out punishment.

We see that during this whole encounter God gave them ample time to acknowledge their wrongdoing and ask Him to forgive and restore. He keeps on asking questions, (although of course He knew exactly what had happened), hoping all the while that they would respond honestly and admit that they were in the wrong. Eventually He Himself had to mention the eating from the forbidden tree, and how did they then answer Him? Both of them made excuses and blamed others for their own wrong choices!

Imagine the hurt in our Abba Father’s heart when He saw them not responding to His gesture of love - the outstretched hand of forgiveness, reconciliation, and restoration of relationships. His punishment of their sin was unavoidable, as He is a righteous God, but I am sure that He gave it with a very heavy heart!

Pearls to ponder:

Let us be quick to repent and truthfully own up to our transgressions, without making excuses or compromising. This is not to somehow earn God’s favour and love – we have that already – but for our own sakes, so that we can continue to abide in our love relationship with our Heavenly Father without hindrances of our own making!

God of all my days

When Abraham sinned

 

Gen 2:20

Abraham introduced his wife, Sarah, by saying, “She is my sister.” So King Abimelech of Gerar sent for Sarah and had her brought to him at his palace.

The background to this sorry state of affairs is that Abraham had just interceded for his nephew Lot and his family to be saved from the Lord’s intention to destroy Sodom; Lot subsequently fled to the mountains around Zoar; and Abraham then decided to journey away from the area to the Negeb where he settled temporarily in Gerar.

Abimelech was the Philistine king of Gerar. The taking of Sarah into his harem was most probably a political move, as Abraham was known as a very rich and important man, and alliances made through marriages were commonly arranged to ensure good will between rulers.

God came to this pagan king’s rescue by warning him in a dream about the truth of who Sarah really was – Abraham’s wife – and He then instructed Abimelech to return Sarah to Abraham, which he immediately did the very next morning. God had shown Abimelech mercy by preventing him from touching her. He brought sheep, oxen, and slaves to this meeting, with the generous offer that Abraham could live anywhere in his land. He also brought a thousand pieces of silver to vindicate Sarah’s honour before all men.

Abraham’s response to all these happenings was far from what we would expect from this godly man. We find that he had not learned his lesson from the first time when he lied about Sarah being his sister (which she of course was to an extent, she was his half-sister, but half a lie is just the same as a full lie) to Pharaoh in Gen 12:10-20. God scourged Pharaoh and his household with serious plagues on that occasion and repeated His judgement again on Abimelech and his household by afflicting them with an ailment that is not disclosed here. Abraham had not learned to trust God to protect him and repeated his own corrupt plans.

Even worse, Abraham tried to shift the blame for all these events on to God. In verse 13 he said And when God had me wander from my father’s household, I said to her, ‘This is how you can show your love to me: Everywhere we go, say of me, “He is my brother."’ The word he used for ‘wander’ is the worst word available he could choose, it is always translated negatively, to be used amongst others “of animals going astray, of a drunken man reeling, or staggering, of sinful seduction, of a prophet’s lies causing the people to err, of the path of a lying heart”.

And still, despite all this - God called Abraham a prophet (verse 7). God did not cancel His promises to him. God provided Isaac through him, and centuries later Jesus Christ was born from this family line.

Pearls to ponder:

When we think about all the wrong things we continue to do before God, it is only His mercy and grace that upholds us. Consider that Jesus sees everything about us - every hidden thought; every weakness; every failure. And still He died for us, so that we can be with Him for all eternity!

The goodness of God

Return

 

Malachi 3:7

…..Return to me, and I will return to you,” says the LORD Almighty….

I am placing an extract of a letter from Steve Porter today, because it so lovingly describes the circumstances many of us are facing at the moment:

Spiritual apathy rarely announces itself. It slips in quietly, as life grows full. David Wilkerson once spoke of a season when life was good. A loving church. A steady routine. Enough provision to be comfortable. Nothing was broken. And yet—something was missing.

He admitted something that many sincere Christians quietly experience: his Bible reading had become functional. Useful. Practical. He read to prepare. To stay faithful. To keep moving forward. But not always to linger.

And one day, he found himself praying words that changed everything: “Lord, I’m not looking for a word for a sermon. I’m looking for Your heart.” That prayer was not the cry of a burned-out leader. It was the hunger of a normal believer who realized that Christianity can continue without intimacy—but it cannot thrive.

Wilkerson learned prayer as a boy. His father used to say to him, “David, there are only twenty-four hours in a day. That’s all Elijah had—and he prayed. You can pray like Elijah. God always makes a way for men of prayer.” That truth is not reserved for preachers. It is for mothers and fathers. Teenagers and retirees. Factory workers and office employees. Anyone who desires more than a surface walk with God.

Wilkerson discovered something important: when you truly decide to seek God, distractions increase. Not sinful things. Ordinary things. Phone calls. Schedules. Responsibilities. Life itself begins to press harder—not because prayer is wrong, but because it matters.

So he found a place. A quiet place.  place where God could meet him. Not for a day. Not for a quick devotion. For weeks. He said, “Lord, I’m fixing my heart. I’m not satisfied with a normal Christianity.”

Beloved, that sentence alone explains the difference between knowing about God and knowing God.

Wilkerson later looked at the modern Church and said plainly: “You are spending more time with technology than with the Holy Spirit.” Not because technology is evil—but because it is loud. And loud things slowly crowd out the still, small voice.

Beloved, this is not about guilt. It is about hunger. A full schedule can starve the soul. A busy mind can silence prayer. You may still attend church. Still read Scripture. Still believe all the right things. Yet something inside quietly whispers, “There must be more than this.”

That whisper is not dissatisfaction. It is invitation. Wilkerson said revival did not come because he was gifted. It came because he returned to the place he had left.

Years later, walking through the brokenness of Times Square, the Holy Spirit whispered to him, “Go back and seek My face the way you did in the beginning.” The same whisper is moving through the Church today. Not calling us to do more—but to return. Because prayer is not preparation for the Christian life. Prayer is the Christian life.

Dear one, let me ask you gently—When was the last time you prayed without rushing? Without multitasking? Without needing something immediately?

When was the last time you sat with God simply because you missed Him? If prayer has grown thin, if silence feels awkward, if your heart feels crowded—this is not condemnation. This is mercy knocking.

Right now, whisper this prayer: “Lord, I return. I’ve been faithful—but hurried. Busy—but distant. Teach me to linger again. Clear the noise from my heart. I want Your presence more than productivity.”

Beloved, the prayer room is still open. And the Father is still waiting.

With Love,

Steve Porter

Lord lead me back home

Prompting

 

2 Thess 1:11

So we keep on praying for you, asking our God to enable you to live a life worthy of his call. May he give you the power to accomplish all the good things your faith prompts you to do.

Let us explore all that Paul is saying here. The first area that we need to ponder on, is what he meant by a life worthy of God’s calling, which he elaborates on in verse 12  We pray this so that the name of our Lord Jesus may be glorified in you, and you in him, according to the grace of our God and the Lord Jesus Christ.

It means living lives where we are aware of how His goodness is working in and for us; it means that we acknowledge His work in us through the choices we make on a daily basis; and through the humbleness it produces in us – who are we, after all, that He should shower us with His blessings?

It means that the name of our Lord Jesus Christ is glorified in us – we walk as His representatives here on earth, taking on His character more and more, emulating His ways and works ( Unlike simple copying, emulation implies trying to reach the same high standard as the person being imitated, out of admiration or respect for them).

It means that we proclaim that He alone is the source of our glory and exaltation - we deflect all praise and honour we receive from people back to Him; the only thing that matters to us is who we are in Him and not who we are in anything else.

The second part of the verse speaks about receiving the power of God to do the things that our faith prompts us to do. The Prompter is of course Holy Spirit, and He can only suggest some action to us. It remains up to us to obey and DO. When we first learn to hear His voice, this can bring about great turmoil in our hearts – did I hear correctly? Was it really Holy Spirit speaking to me? What will people think or say? And obedience despite our fears only sometimes has immediate results – we may never know what effect our words or actions had on a person! We will have to wait until we are in heaven to learn what the impact was. But sometimes…. a person is healed right in front of our eyes. A mother shares that your payment of her groceries just now means that she is now able to pay a doctor’s bill for her child. Your random offer to pray for a complete stranger in the mall was the answer to their plea to Abba that they will start believing again if something like that happened today…..

Pearls to ponder:

Let us become aware of the goodness of God in our lives by actively searching for and thanking God for it. As you prepare to go to sleep, praise Him for His love and mercy and grace displayed in your life today. May we increasingly become aware of His promptings to act in faith, so that the power of God can work through us!

I heard the voice of God today

We are living this prophecy

 

John 16:3

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

It was the year 1973. I vividly remember sitting in our enclosed veranda, tapping away on my father’s manual typewriter to capture the audio words I was hearing on our tape recorder – the very words of God as revealed to David Wilkerson in a vision about the end times. In this vision God spoke about what the future world would look like, and I never knew then that I would be experiencing this myself in the times we are living in now!

David Wilkerson became famous when he wrote his book titled “The Cross and the Switchblade”, about his journey of obedience to follow the Lord’s instruction to move to New York and pastor the gang members who ruled the city. One former gang leader, Nicky Cruz, is still an international evangelist today.

People regarded what he saw as totally ridiculous and far-fetched at the time, and he lost a lot of support, many bookstores even refusing to sell his book on the prophecy. But the truth of it is now undeniably becoming visible around us today. He saw terrible calamities coming over America and the world - these are given below as he recounted them (still as future events coming after 1973).

A world-wide recession caused by economic confusion which the world’s economists are going to be at a loss to explain. Large and trusted corporations going bankrupt, also large churches, causing missionary projects to flounder.

Nature having labour pains with worldwide catastrophes that cannot be explained. Major earthquakes coming to the United States; worldwide famine especially in China, India and Russia; the world’s food supplies completely dwindling. A new kind of cosmic storm appearing as a raging fire in the air and leaving a vapour trail. Tornadoes, floods, hurricanes, and hailstorms will intensify.

A flood of filth is about to hit America. Triple X-rated movies on cable television, R-rated movies on network television (unbelievable in 1973!). Sex education classes at school will use animated cartoons etc. And just when it appears that the Supreme Court will rule against pornographers, and the nation appears to be returning to old fashioned moral standards, suddenly the flood gates will swing open and Satan will fling smut from out of hell - it will be just as in the days of Lot and will vex the souls of God’s most devout saints. A persecution madness against pure Spirit-filled Christians who love Jesus Christ will come, the purpose will be to scatter the true believers from the false. It will come when religious freedom appears to be at a peak, a true harassment. Nearly all evangelical missionary projects, all religious radio and television programming will be so closely monitored, questioned and badgered by government agencies they will be cautious and worried about expanding.

The rise of a one world church supported by liberal ecumenical Protestants and the Roman Catholic Church will become one of the most powerful religious forces on earth. It will be spiritual in name only, being in fact anti-Christ and political in many of its activities. A sudden mysterious chain of events will bring about the framework for this union. The pope will be a political leader, not a spiritual one. An army of career people invading this super church will be anti-Christ people. They will persecute all organisations that do not come under their leadership. Homosexual and lesbian people will be welcome here. Nude dancing in some of these churches will be accepted, although not widespread. Certain occult practises will be condoned – to make Satan a bland non-entity, someone not to be feared. Seances will replace prayer meetings.

 Watch out for Hollywood attempting to debunk our morals. Witchcraft will be sensationalized. Persecution will come from television comedies; they will become bolder and bolder and poke fun at Christ and all true Christians. They will become absolutely blasphemous, and millions of people will be sitting in front of their TVs, watching and laughing. Headmasters of schools and faculties will be replaced by ungodly people who will promote agnosticism. Lying spirits will be released to slander and gossip and spread lies about true Jesus-following pastors and their wives.

He also saw the fall of the iron and bamboo curtains, as God intends for the Gospel to spread through those nations. Persecution in these countries will unfortunately later rise again.

Pearls to ponder:

Look around you – is he not describing exactly what we are already experiencing? Does this make us fearful? No, certainly not! God is in control, and we know that in Rom 8:28 He promises And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.

God is in control

Ungodly church goers

 

Jude 1:4

For certain men have crept in among you unnoticed—ungodly ones who were designated long ago for condemnation. They turn the grace of our God into a license for immorality, and they deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.

Do you find this as shocking as I do? That it is possible for ungodly persons to infiltrate a church group unnoticed – they behave like sincere believers and yet are far from being what they profess to be.

Jude had the intention to write this letter to believers about the fact that all of us have to follow the same way to reach our salvation. However, this issue of hidden imposters among the flock became a matter that he had to address urgently.

He gives a few clues by which we can identify them. They pervert the grace of God into lawlessness, and then into immorality. This can happen so easily, for instance when we hear someone say, “It is OK to do this, because God’s grace means He will forgive you.” Or they hold the belief that if it feels good, it is permissible. There is also an element of “everybody does it, so it seems to be acceptable”. I have heard about a pastor who tells his congregation that they can receive the mark of the beast during the Tribulation, because God’s grace will cover them (when the Bible explicitly says that those people will be thrown into hell Rev 14:9-10). We regularly see Christian young men and women living together because they see it as acceptable behaviour in their churches, while the Bible teaches purity before marriage throughout all its pages.

They deny the deity of Jesus, teaching that He was but a man here on earth, that He married and had children, and died an ordinary death. And slowly these doctrines, coming from seemingly learned and knowledgeable Christians, get a foothold among the congregation and erode their core belief.

Jude goes on to explain that they not only corrupt the body through perverse sexual practices, but they also scorn and reject all authority – not only the authority of God and His word, but also of church leaders, and governmental rulers. These evil men and seducers are angry at everything that happens and never pleased with their own state and condition. Their will and their fancy are their only rule and law. They complain and grumble about everything, their talk is boastful and arrogant, they pay flattering compliments to gain advantage. They live devoid of the Holy Spirit.

Pearls to ponder:

Now that you know what to look for, do you recognize people in your congregation that exhibit these behaviours? What about you, personally? Jude has answers as to what to do about this situation – read verses 20-25. It begins with turning inward and building up your own faith. And then rely on God’s discernment as to whether you have to confront and rebuke; or whether you must comfort those who waver and doubt. Loving the person but hating the sin should always be our motivation.

Love you with the Truth

Fulfilled prophecy

 Isaiah 7:14

Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.

It might upset some readers to realize that this well-known prophecy originally referred to a child born to King Ahaz of Judah, and not primarily to the birth of Jesus some 700 years later. The child was to be a sign to Ahaz pointing to the fact that, before the child reached adulthood, the Assyrians would invade the north of Israel. The mother of this child could have been one of Ahaz’s wives, taken into his harem while still a virgin, and then becoming pregnant in the normal manner, naming her son Immanuel. This sign of Isaiah came true, as history proves.

Some believers find it difficult to accept that Biblical prophecies that have already been fulfilled somewhere in the past, could have any bearing on events that might still happen in the future.

But the apostles themselves believed that the words of the prophets did not only apply to historical events, but specifically also to their own time as well, as we read in Acts 3:24 “Indeed, beginning with Samuel, all the prophets who have spoken have foretold these days.” This is because the Holy Spirit inspired the prophets to write words that also would have bearing on events in the messianic future, even if they themselves did not understand the full application of their own words.

We see this clearly in Isaiah 7:14, because although Ahaz’s child fulfilled this prophecy in his time in history, it is also true that:

·         this prophecy refers to Jesus because the Holy Spirit says so through Matthew in Matthew 1:23 “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

·         This prophecy refers to Jesus because it is addressed not only to Ahaz, but to the entire house of David.

·         This prophecy refers to Jesus because the words “the virgin will conceive” was literally fulfilled when He was born.

·         This prophecy refers to Jesus because the designation “Immanuel” was fundamentally true of Jesus in His lifetime and not only used as a title. God with us shows His deity (GOD with us) and His nearness to us (God WITH US).

In the same way, we can know that many other biblical prophecies give us a template of things still to come, even though they might have been fulfilled in history already.

Points to ponder: Am I open to see Bible prophecy as markers for the future, waiting for another fulfilment? Do I then see end-time prophecies becoming real-time events all around me as time goes on? Ask Holy Spirit to convince you of the godly interpretation of the times we are living in and ask Him to show you how to truly discern and understand those prophecies in the light of His Word. Do not merely rely on the teachings of man.

Days of Elijah  

The power of God

 

1 Cor 16:14

And God will raise us from the dead by his power, just as he raised our Lord from the dead.

The Shroud of Turin is an ancient piece of grave cloth with markings on it that resemble the body of a man that has been crucified and then wrapped up in it before burial. Research on this cloth has been ongoing for many years, as the images found on it matches the events described in the Bible as to what happened to the body of Jesus Christ perfectly – it shows the blood stains of a crown of thorns on the head, of holes in the wrists and ankles, of a wound in the side, a beard that has pieces ripped out, and also of a body scourged and whipped extensively.

Irrespective of what your opinion about the authenticity of the Shroud of Turin is, it cannot be denied that the latest findings produced by AI research and published by scientists recently, has certainly taken the whole debate into another realm, quite literally!

They considered the fact that the image was burned into the cloth, but without scorching the fabric deeper than a tiny layer of the uppermost fibres. Their explanation for this is that the fabric was hit by a burst of light, and this suggests something incredibly powerful, something untraceable. They surmise that it was a burst of radiation from the body that lasted only a tiny fraction of a second, which allowed the atoms of the body to disappear from our perception of reality into an altered dimensionality. They made a point of explaining that the body did not go from one stage of existence to another through the mass of his body turning into energy, because that would have created a nuclear explosion a thousand times larger than the largest nuclear weapon ever set off – it would have destroyed the cloth, Jerusalem, and most of Israel!

To my mind, we as believers have a perfect explanation for what happened – Jesus was raised from the dead by the power of God! Jesus is the Light of the world, (John 9:5 While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”) Paul mentions that as imitators of Him, our bodies will be transformed into glorified bodies in the time it takes to blink (1 Cor 15:52 It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown. For when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever. And we who are living will also be transformed.)

Pearls to ponder:

Consider the power of that burst of light. Know that it is larger than the power that any other earthly method by which the body could disappear, would generate, which already is a thousand times larger than the largest nuclear bombs? And then consider the fact that Jesus says this power lives within us! (Eph 1:19-20 I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms). Why do we ever believe that we are hopeless against the enemy and his defeated army of darkness?

That's the Power