My family means so much to me. I can’t imagine life without them. My happiest and most memorable moments are those shared with family. And while friends are important, too, friends can come and go, but family remains forever. And all this reminiscing got me thinking about that other family of mine, my spiritual family.  In reality, the entire world is divided into only two great families: the family of God and the family of Satan, and each group is vying to increase the number of their relatives.  

Jesus called his heavenly father, Abba, which literally means “daddy.” He was the Son of Abba. But there was someone else who called himself the Son of Abba, and that was Barabbas, bar meaning son and abba, already covered above.  It’s interesting to note that Abba was used only by family members to denote intimacy with their father as well as to address and acknowledged the head of their household.

We all know the story of how Pilate offered the people a choice between these two “sons of abba.” All four gospels talk about it.  And no two sons could be more opposite, nor their fathers, either. It’s amazing how children reflect their parents.  Qualities, prejudices, shortcomings, strengths, are all mirrored in the lives of offspring.  And so, we will eventually come to resemble our spiritual father.  The Bible tells us how Jesus, the very creator of the universe, was full of love and compassion, was gentle and kind.  Barabbas, on the other hand, is noted as a rebel, a thief and a murdered, just like his spiritual father, Satan, who is a rebel against God and who comes only to “steal, kill, and destroy.” What a contrast! And all the more amazing is how many in the crowd chose the wrong son of abba. And nothing’s changed.  People are still doing it. 

The Bible says we will know them by their fruits (Matthew 7:16) then goes on to say that “every good tree will bring forth good fruit; but a corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit” (Matthew 7:17). The meaning is obvious.  And in a similar manner, as the world becomes more confusing and malevolent, not only will we be able to distinguish the sons of God from the sons of Satan, but we will be pressured more and more to answer the question for ourselves, “whose son (or daughter) are you”?

Until next week,

Sylvia

I love this one.  In John 4:5-42 Jesus is resting at Jacob’s well when a woman of Samaria comes to draw water. He immediately begins a conversation by asking her for a drink; rather shocking with you consider that she was a Samaritan, a member of a mongrel race considered unclean by Jews, and that she was a woman, a second class citizen in a male dominated society.  Jewish men did not normally strike up conversations with women.

She acknowledges this prejudice by asking why He’s even talking to her.  His response is amazing on so many levels.  In essence He says, if you knew who you were talking to, you’d “ask of him and he would have given you living water.”  He goes on to explain this living water was “a well of water springing up into everlasting life.”  He was declaring that He was the source of everlasting life, and here’s the kicker, He was declaring it to a fallen Samaritan women.

A few verses down we realize just how fallen.  She’s had five husbands and the man she’s currently living with wasn’t even her husband. That’s probably why she came to the well around the 6^th hour or noon, in the heat of the day, when no one else would be there, because she was probably even an outcast among her own people. But Jesus knew all this, and revealed His knowledge to her.  And she was amazed.  And so am I because even with this prior knowledge He doesn’t say, “boy, you really blew it.  You’ve really made a mess of your life.” Rather He said, “if you’d asked, I’d have given.”

And that’s just what he says to us.  No matter how much we’ve messed up our life, no matter how low on society’s totem poll we are, no matter how insignificant we feel, no matter how “unclean” our lives have become, God loves us, and says, “if you ask I will give you eternal life.” Wow! 

Sometimes I don’t understand why God bothers with us.  We are so flawed, so weak, so much like the “dog who returns to his own vomit” yet He’s there, saying to each of us, “ask me, and I’ll give you because I love you, no matter who you are or what you’ve done.”

The end of the story is also wonderful.  Jesus uses this woman, this fallen unclean Samaritan, to go and tell her community about Him and lead others to Him, thus showing there is a place for even the lowliest in God’s kingdom and in His plan. 

Oh what a God we serve! What a loving, tender, good God! And it’s His very goodness that leads us to repentance (Romans 2:4b).

Until next week,

Sylvia

Okay, before I crawl out on this limb let me just say I’m NOT a sci-fi enthusiast.  I don’t follow UFO sightings, don’t subscribe to weird science magazines, don’t believe in aliens. But when the Vatican publically says it’s fine to believe in UFOs then releases their UFO files; and when more than 20 countries, which include France, Great Britain, Japan, Russia, and Spain, begin releasing their previously classified UFO files; and when the UN installs in their “Office for Outer Space Affairs,” a certain professor Mazlan Othman to “conduct negotiations with the first extraterrestrials that might come to this planet”; and when I hear that reports of alien abductions, new crop circles, animal mutilations, and UFO sightings have risen sharply, then I feel the need to do some investigating.

And what did I find?  I found that the Bible is as relevant today as it was when first written.

One of the things Jesus said when talking about the signs of his second coming was that it would be “as in the days of Noah” (Matthew 24:37).  So what was going on in the “days of Noah”?  Well, not only were they “eating and drinking” and going about their life totally clueless that a catastrophic flood was soon to come, the land was also full of violence and every man’s thoughts were continuously evil (Genesis 6: 5-13). 

But if you look just a few verses up at Genesis 6:1-4 we see something else, too, something that most churches never talk about and that, quite frankly, isn’t considered very intellectual even in the Church, and that’s the subject of the Nephilim.  In these four verses of Genesis 6 we see that the sons of God or angels, did something they had no right to do.  They cohabitated with human women and produced giants (Nephilim).  These offspring, according to the Jewish historian, Josephus, were the basis of Greek mythology, and were, in fact, the reality behind the mythical Titans. The Book of Enoch, possibly the oldest book ever written and a well respected tome even up through the seventh century of the Church, goes into even greater detail and tells of these fallen angels taking human wives and having offspring, then, seeking forgiveness, they ask Enoch—the man the Bible says walked with God and who was Noah’s great grandfather—to plead with God on their behalf. In the Bible, Jude 6 also alludes to this when he talks about how the angels who did not keep their “first estate” are now chained in darkness.

So something unusual was going on in the days of Noah; fallen angels were interacting with men. And if they did it then, we can assume it will happen again in the last days.  And that’s what I think is happening now, and it’s just the beginning.  We are being programmed to accept the concept of UFOs and aliens.  And I have to ask, “why?”

I believe in a pre-tribulation rapture, and when that happens how is the world going to explain the disappearance of millions of Christians? Well, some in the New Age movement think that in the near future the masters of the universe will remove from the earth all those whose karmas prevent the world from living in peace.  From my point of view these masters are nothing more than fallen angels. So my question is this: Is this how the world will explain the rapture, when God’s people will be removed from the earth?  Will they say the Christians have been taken by UFOs so the world can evolve into what the so-called masters of the universe envision?  Will this be part of the “lying signs and wonders” the Bible talks about?  Could this be the “lie” God says everyone will believe?  Just something to think about the next time you hear of another UFO sighting.  And if you want to know more, few make this case better than L. A. Marzulli or Tom Horn in their numerous books on the Nephilim.

Some may think this is all foolishness, but I think we must consider the possibility that we are in the process of being invaded not by space aliens but by a demonic horde whose purpose is not only to prepare the world for the big “lie” but to turn the attention of believers from the things of God to “lying signs and wonders.”

Until next week,

Sylvia

No one talks about the “H” word anymore.  Hell.  What is it?  A curse word? A myth? Or . . . is it actually real? According to Jesus it is.  He spoke of hell many times.  Here are two examples: Mark 9:43-44 “”And if thy hand offend thee, cut it off: it is better for thee to enter into life maimed, than having two hands to go into hell into the fire that never shall be quenched: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” And in Matthew 10:28 He says, “”And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Chilling isn’t it?

Then there are numerous people who, either through a near death or other experience have seen hell for themselves, and returned to tell about it, like Bill Wiese who in numerous interviews and in his book, 23 Minutes in Hell, talks about his journey there and describes the people in unbelievable torment, their horrible screams of anguish, the disgusting stench, the unbearable heat, the grotesque demonic creatures, and finally the broken heart of Jesus as He watched.

Why is it important for those of us who truly believe in Jesus to also believe in a literal hell?  After all, it’s not a place we need to bother with.  We’re not going there.  Well, it’s important because some of our family and friends and neighbors are if they leave this world as enemies of Christ. An evangelist once said if we really understood the nature of hell, really believed Jesus when He said NO man comes to the Father except through Him (John 14:6) and that hell awaits those who try to go by any other way, we would crawl through broken glass to preach to our loved ones in order to spare them the horrors that await.

I don’t know why I feel such an urgency to get down on my knees and cry out to God for the salvation of those I love who have yet to come to the Lord.  Perhaps it’s because after watching the graphic TV footage of the Japanese disaster, it brings home just how tenuous life is. We are not guaranteed tomorrow. Today is the day of salvation.

Until next week,

Sylvia 

Here’s a great story in Matthew 14: 24-32.  It was the fourth watch of the night, sometime between three and six in the morning. A boatload of apostles, under Jesus’ instruction to “go to the other side” many hours earlier, have made it only halfway because the wind kicked up and the waves have been tossing their boat around like a toy, impeding their progress. The Sea of Galilee was like that.  Calm one minute, treacherous the next. All of a sudden the apostles spot a man walking on the water.  “A ghost!” they cry in fear, for what else could it be?

But it’s Jesus’ familiar voice that rings back, “Be of good cheer; it is I; be not afraid.”  And it’s Peter who responds by asking Jesus to tell him to come walk on the water, too. When Jesus does, Peter gets out of the boat, and what do you know!  He really does walk on water, that is until he takes his eyes off Jesus and once again notices the boisterous winds and tossing sea, and then he starts sinking. 

What a lesson!  In this tempest tossed-world, with storms all around us to impede our progress, we don’t have to drown in our circumstances.  We can actually walk on these troubled waters, but only if we keep our eyes on Jesus.  The minute we take our eyes off Him and put them on our troubles, we’ll start sinking. There’s no doubt in my mind that had Peter kept his focus on Jesus he would have walked all the way across the sea to the other side.   Instead, Jesus had to pull the drenched Peter out of the water and into the boat. And I’m sure Peter’s heart broke a little when Jesus admonished him with, “O thou of little faith, wherefore didst though doubt?”

Most of us want to do what Jesus has instructed us to do.  But as the world becomes more unstable, and circumstances more trying, it’s easy to allow fear to enter. And when it does we have two choices: Do we keep our eyes on Jesus and allow Him to take us through? Or do we concentrate on our circumstances and allow them to overwhelm us?  I think we’re going to have many opportunities in the days and weeks and months ahead to answer that for ourselves.

Until next week,

Sylvia

Even after years of hearing the Gospel which tells us that salvation is a free gift from God, (Ephesians 2:8-9 “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” KJV) it’s still easy for Christians to fall into the temptation of co-mingling grace with works. Why is that?  I think because it’s difficult to completely weed out worldly thinking with regard to spiritual things.

The world system says we must prove our worth.  Thus we are judged by who we know, how well we perform, what we do, and how successful we are. But the trouble occurs when we transfer this same standard of measurement to our spiritual life by trying to prove our worth to God.

The truth is we are valuable to God not because of anything we’ve done, but because He has bought us with a great price—the very blood of Jesus.  And nothing we ever do, no matter how great, will make us more valuable to God, or more loved by Him. The world will never understand this truth, because it is alien, heavenly, and spiritually discerned.

So does that mean we just sit around and eat chocolate covered raisins all day? No, we do good works to please God, because we love Him, and they are the works He has ordained for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). And we love God because He first loved us (1 John 4:19). And His love for us can’t be earned and it’s certainly not deserved.  On the cross, Jesus said “it is finished”. He paid the price so that we could have peace with God. We don’t need to prove anything to Him. All we need do is rest in what Jesus has already done. It’s that simple.

Oh, how amazing His grace is!

Until next week,

Sylvia

Years ago, someone I knew became an atheist because when her sister was sick she prayed to God and instead of answering her prayers and healing her sister, God let her sister die.  How deep was her commitment to God prior to this incident? Who can say?  Only God knows the heart, but it does bring up a valid issue, one that, I dare say, many Christians, me included, have experienced, and it is disappointment with God.  We get disappointed when we have prayed and prayed about a thing and it doesn’t happen, of if after walking in what we thought was faithful obedience for some time, God still doesn’t answer our prayers, or He lets something terrible happen, or He allows the sins of others to drastically impact our lives. And we become offended and ask, “why?” and we begin to feel resentful towards God.  And all this says a lot about us. It says we are like spoiled children, wanting our way and wanting it now. It says that we think we can run things better than God; that we know better than He does what is good for us. It also shows a lack of faith because we really don’t believe God works all things together for good for them that love Him and are called according to His purpose (Romans 8:28). 

Why are so many disappointed with God these days? Is it because we’ve become I-centered dough-people? Has our culture made us believe we are the center of the universe?  That everything revolves around us? And if it feels good do it and if it doesn’t, well don’t waste one more second in that marriage, in that job, or in trying to overcome that problem? I think it has.  And though we are but weak flesh and it’s often hard to fight the good fight, and we get discourage and even disappointed with God, we must hang in there.  God really does have our best interest in mind, and there is no better advocate in all the world.  He will stick closer than a brother, never leave us or forsake us, and He loves us with an everlasting love.  And if we trust Him and see the thing through we really will come out conformed more perfectly into the image of Jesus Christ. And that, in a nut shell, is the whole point.

Until next week,

Sylvia

Sheep have to be among the silliest of God’s creatures.  They simply cannot survive by themselves.  If left on their own they would return to the same overgrazed and pollute pastures, unable to find new ones upon which to feed. They would become sickly without the saltlicks and other trace minerals the shepherd provides.  They would drink from polluted holes unless taken to a source of water that is pure. Or they would drown if not kept away from swift running streams. Their eyes have to be constantly cleaned and medicated to prevent blindness from infections caused by flies. And they need sheltering during harsh inclement weather for they don’t know enough to shelter themselves. And when a sheep becomes “cast” or ends up on its back unable to scramble back on its feet, it would die unless the shepherd picked it up. In addition, sheep are utterly unable to protect themselves from predators and must rely solely on their shepherd for protection.

It’s no accident that the Bible compares us to sheep for we are just as foolish and incapable of caring for ourselves. And it’s for this very reason we need The Good Shepherd.  For it is the Shepherd that keeps us from pollution by providing His word for us to feed on.  He is the living water that keeps us refreshed.  He is the salve that keeps us from spiritual blindness.  He is our provider, our shelter, our protector.  His utter care and commitment is all encompassing.  He is tender and loving, ever mindful of our weaknesses but never repulsed by them. He picks us up when we fall, and carries us when we are weak. He has laid down his life for us, the sheep. He has held nothing back.

In this time of uncertainly and upheaval, isn’t it wonderful that we have such a Shepherd?  We need not fear, but only allow Him to lead, guide and protect us. And we, His sheep, can remain in perfect peace, if we follow His leading.

Until next week,

Sylvia

As the saga of Egypt unfolds many are wondering what this means for Israel.  My own opinion: in the short term, not much.  In the long term, added danger.  Israel has become the whipping boy of the world.  Anti-Semitism is rampant throughout Europe, while in the Middle East it continues to ratchet-up—all dangerous, but not necessarily for Israel.  To be sure, the Old Testament talks of the day of “Jacob’s Trouble” while the New Testament calls it the “Tribulation”, a seven-year period when the world will be turned upside down, and all because of the tiny state of Israel.  And while it will be a difficult time for Israel, it will be even more disastrous for the world.  How do I know?  It’s all in God’s Word.

In the meantime, more and more churches in America are buying into “replacement theology” which claims that the church has replaced Israel and that God is actually finished with Israel altogether. It’s a belief that twists scripture as well as ignores end-time Bible prophesy where Israel, not the church, is the central figure. This new theology is dangerous because it is dangerous to abandon Israel, and I’m talking spiritually.  God promised Abraham, the grandfather of Jacob (God later changed Jacob’s name to Israel) that He would bless those that blessed him and curse those who cursed him (Genesis 12:3).  He also promised him a certain land. “And I will establish my covenant between me and thee and thy seed after thee in their generations for an everlasting covenant, to be a God unto thee, and to they seed after thee. And I will give unto thee, and to thy seed after thee, the land wherein thou art a stranger, all the land of Canaan, for an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.” Genesis 17:7-8.  Notice the word everlasting was used twice and it means just what is says.  God intended this covenant and possession to be forever, non-revocable and not predicated on the faithfulness or performance of Abraham’s descendants, unlike some of the other covenants God made with the Jews which were.  God also calls Israel the apple of His eye and that when we hurt Israel we are poking Him in the eye! (Zechariah 2:8)  Space does not permit the documentation of how God responded to those who have hurt Israel in the past, but if you want more on this, read John McTernan’s book, As American has done to Israel; a sobering work to be sure.

In spite of all God’s warnings, the Bible tells us that in the end times Israel will stand alone, that the whole world will be against her.  We are beginning to see it.  Even our government is cooling towards its best Middle Eastern ally. It’s important to note that Israel is the only nation in the world where God Himself set up the boundaries (Deuteronomy 11:24; Joshua 1:4) and they encompass far more land than Israel claims today. Even so, the politicians say Israel must give up more land in order to solve the Palestinian problem, and that once this problem is solved there will be peace for all, including Israel. Well, if you repeat a thing often enough, even if it’s a lie, people eventually begin to believe it.  The sad, desperate plight of the people in Gaza is due to their own leadership.  Over the years, billions in aid have poured into the area, and instead of being used to build roads, hospitals, schools, improve sanitation, etc., it has gone to line the pockets of people like Yasser Arafat or to purchase more weaponry to use against Israel. Add to that this fact: In 1922 75% of the land promised the Jews in the Balfour Declaration was taken away and given to the Arabs as their state, a state set up east of the Jordan River called Transjordan, later renamed Jordan.  The land west of the Jordan River was to be used for a Jewish state.  A promise was given that the Jews would never again be asked to give up any more land. So much for promises. 

And what of the Temple Mount in Jerusalem?  The Moslem world would like nothing better than to bar all Jews from it because they claim it is so holy to Islam. Really? Then why is Jerusalem never mentioned by name in the Koran while in the Bible it is mentioned over 800 times? And that doesn’t count the times it is called by other names such as Zion or Salem.  You would think a site so holy to Muslims would be mentioned at least once in their scriptures.  And while the Dome of the Rock is, indeed, a holy structure to Muslims, the Jews have had two temples on the Mount, and the first one, Solomon’s Temple, was built over 1,600 years before the first stone of the Dome of the Rock was ever laid.

So why all this phony uproar and illegitimate claims against Israel’s land?  Because it’s a spiritual issue, and limited space prevents me from doing justice to the subject. But here’s the reason in a nutshell: Israel is God’s land.  Jerusalem is where Jesus, the Great King, will return to set up his earthy kingdom, where He will rule and reign for a thousand years, therefore it is the very place where Satan vies to set up his.  And for a brief period during the tribulation, Satan will succeed, when his man, the Antichrist, declares himself god in the new Jewish Temple (Oh, yes, there will be another Jewish Temple!) So while there is a great physical struggle going on over Israel and the Temple Mount, it only mirrors the spiritual struggle going on behind the scenes.

So, as a result of the world sticking its finger into God’s eye, what can we expect in the future, according to the Bible? Here are but two examples: Damascus (an ancient city continuously inhabited for over 4000 years) will become a “ruinous heap.” (Isaiah 17:1) The coalition army of Russia, Iran, Ethiopia, Libya, and Turkey that will eventually go against Israel will be decimated by God Himself. (Ezekiel 38) And it will take Israel seven years to burn their battle implements (Ezekiel 39). 

I fear we are entering perilous times, times when we need, more than ever, to press closer to God and to “pray for the peace of Jerusalem.  They will prosper that love thee.” Psalms 122:6

Until next week,

Sylvia

Friday was “Grandparent’s Day” at my grandchildren’s school.  First, there was a delightful program in the auditorium and then a tour of the campus. It was a lovely day, and as I watched grandparents interfacing with their grandchildren and saw their excited faces, it brought home how important relatives are to children, and how the extended family provides the bonds that strengthen.  Through them, a child has roots.  They help define who he is, where he came from and perhaps where he is going. Grandparents, aunts and uncles can enhance the story and history of a family as well as provide wisdom, direction, guidance, and of course love. And when they are absent, the nuclear family is poorer for it.

My daughter once told me that one of the reasons she tried to walk the straight and narrow was because if she didn’t, she’d have to face her grandparents and all her aunts and uncles.  Hilary Clinton once said that it took a village to raise a child.  I don’t believe it.  But it does take a family and I include in that, the extended family. 

It’s easy for grandparents and uncles and aunts to be caught up in their own lives. We live in a world that seems to whirl faster and faster with each passing day.  But in such a world it’s more important than ever to keep connected and to be part of the glue that strengthens those we love.

Until next week,

Sylvia