|
| Promises & Praise Newsletter January January, 2007 Promises and Praise Newsletter Volume Four In This Issue "Private Interpretation" - What Does That Mean Anway? Thank you, Lord! Grace for the Moment (Excerpt), Volume 2 God, Al Gore, and Global Warming Join our mailing list! Hello again! Notice: New Format Promises and Praise has been on hiatus for several months, and I am very sad and disappointed to report that, due to the lack of interest from our readers in sending in their praises for our gracious Lord, I am forced to reduce the publication of this newsletter from monthly to quarterly. It is inconceivable to me that, as many people who receive this newsletter either via email or on my website, so few are willing to take five minutes to send in a praise. Surely with God's goodness and mercy abounding, ALL of you have something to thank Him [repeatedly] for! Please think about what this apathy says not only to our readership but also [and most importantly] to God Himself. Please let me hear from you soon. In the meantime, here we are already into the new year - where does the time go? I trust everyone had a blessed holiday season and a good summer as well. During the business of every day life it's easy to lose track of time, but we should NEVER lose sight of the fact that our gracious Lord God is in control of both our planet and of our individual lives. While wars and disaster continued to ravage our planet in 2006 and the weather seemed beyond belief, we can have assurance that the Lord God knows all and sees all. Many believe that the great upheavals in our weather patterns mean that devastating climate changes are on the way due to "global warming." But no matter either the weather or the climate of civil unrest, we can depend on our Creator God to hold fast the seasons of the earth. You can find that promise in Genesis (see below). So what's all the fuss about global warming then if God has promised this earth will remain the same until Jesus comes again? We'll take a closer look at that topic in this issue [see the article below, God, Al Gore, and Global Warming]. I think some biblical answers about this hot topic - no pun intended - will surprise many of you in ways you might not expect. While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter and day and night shall not cease. Genesis 8:22 Praise the Lord! Also in this edition is a brief excerpt from one my favorite authors, Max Lucado. May each of you receive as much a blessing as do I from Mr. Lucado's insights. In His Service, Kathy "Private Interpretation" - What Does That Mean Anway? by Kathy S. McBride Last spring I had a brief conversation with a "less-than-casual-acquaintance" who inquired about my book, Remember Lot's Wife: What Jesus Taught About the End of the World. This person asked me what the book was about even though I think the title is pretty self-explanatory. When I explained that it's about why Jesus told us that Lot's wife would figure into end-time events and that He warned us in Luke 17 to "remember" her as a sign of His Second Coming, the person asked me what that meant to me. I must admit I was a little taken aback and responded, "What does what mean to me?" "The Second Coming of Christ. What does that mean to you? How do you take that?" Right here, right now I'm going to share the account of that conversation because it is not every day that I am asked that question. In fact, seldom if ever would be more like it. Again, it seemed to me the issue is "self evident" but apparently not. During the split second that passed while this person waited for my answer, the gears in my head nearly jammed as my brain tried to come up with the appropriate, but more importantly, accurate response. "It means Jesus is literally coming back to this earth, and soon, according to the biblical signs that He Himself said would signal His imminent return." I was satisfied with that answer when yet another zinger hurled my way. "Well, that's pretty much subject to interpretation you know." [Hmmmmmmmm. More gears turning.] "Well, I take the Bible to be literal and I expect Jesus to come back to this earth just as He said He would." With that comeback, our time together was cut short so that was the end of our theological discussion [whew!]. However, I must now "flashback" like in the movies to give you some details that I did not include in the previous dialog. Perhaps it will enlighten you as to why this person is into "private interpretation." When I first stated the title of my book, it was clear there was little biblical root to his person, who immediately asked, "Who's Lot's wife?" Well now, that spoke volumes to me. Obviously this was someone who was pretty much biblically illiterate, so I answered that question with a question of my own. "How much do you know about the Old Testament?" A brief but thoughtful hesitation ensued. "A little. Well, actually . . . not very much." Now, there was a revelation if I ever heard one. That's why this person didn't know who Lot's wife was - or even who Lot himself was. [But there was some recognition of "Sodom and Gomorrah" but we didn't get a chance to go there; might be a good thing!]. No wonder that "private interpretation" thing took root. Ignorance begets ignorance. Let's delve into that issue a little: what does "private interpretation" mean? Do we have the authority as mere mortals to take God's Inspired Word, The Holy Bible, and get anything out of it we wish? Sadly, not only too many individuals do that, but also far too many denominations. Frankly, I have heard so much error, falsehood, and plain baloney from so many pulpits and supposed "men and women of God" from all churches and religions that I want to scream at the top of my lungs, "GET A CLUE!" With so much "educated" falsehood flooding the airwaves and the publishing presses, it's little wonder that people truly have no idea what the Bible is all about, much less what it actually teaches! I am a lowly, simple person without a long string of letters following my name yet I am frequently complimented on my knowledge of the Holy Scriptures. I take no glory nor credit for the little I do know - that praise goes to The Holy Spirit for His leading and guiding - but what I do know I learned from studying the Bible. You see, I don't let other people tell me what I believe: I study for myself then I actually KNOW what I believe because I can prove my convictions to others from the pages of the scriptures. In fact, one of my Christian friends used to always tell me that I was "just like one of the Bereans" because I never took anything at face value. . . . in that they [the Bereans] received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so. Acts 17:11, KJV You see, that is where we have gotten off track and truly out of touch with God even though countless millions actually believe the staggering amount of error and falsehood that permeates Christian society: the vast majority don't read and study the Bible for themselves. It's far easier to take someone else's word for it and take the lazy way out. "Oh, I tried reading the Bible but it's just so hard. I don't understand any of it." Friends, how many times have you heard that one? How many times have you said it yourself? When Jesus comes again - and Yes, He is coming again because He said so! - there will be no excuse that will bear up under the weight of His piercing gaze. No flimsey denial of "brains" will cover the cost of those dear nail-scarred hands and feet. When Jesus does return to redeem His people from the earth as He promised to do [read 2 Thessalonians for starters] it will be forever too late to try to "cram" for the eternal exam! For those who cared little for learning from God's Word and coming to a fuller understanding of Him in order to develop a personal relationship with Christ, their fate will be a terrible one. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied [preached] in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils [demons] and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. Matthew 7:21,22, KJV "I never knew you." Friends, those are the most chilling words that ever will be spoken for they pronounce damnation on the lost who don't even know they are lost! Countless millions THINK they are saved, doing what they falsely believe is God's work! Think what Jesus just warned us about. These people are looking for His return. They are eager to see Him split open the skies and can't wait to receive their rewards - or so they think. They earnestly tell Him about how they have preached His gospel to others, how many good deeds they have done, and even how they performed exorcisms [casting out demons] only to be told, "I never knew you." Friends, please, don't think it can't happen to you! It can happen to you, and to me, and to the vast majority of us if we aren't careful! Don't be so complacent in what you think is "faith" that one Day you hear those dreadful words from the very lips of the Lord you profess to serve now. I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity [sin]. Can you imagine anything more terrible than that? There is nothing more terrible, and for countless millions upon millions, it will be harsh, shocking reality. That is what "private interpretation" will get you. It will result in eternal death, forever separation from the God you may only think you serve. Knowing this first, that no prophecy of the scripture is of any private interpretation. For the prophecy came not in old time [at any time] by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost [Spirit]. 2 Peter 1:20, 21, KJV (Italics supplied) Don't be fooled either by the lure and trappings of this sinful world or by the pleasantries so often taught by the so-called "learned" men and women of God. Eternity is at stake and no one can afford NOT to know what The Holy Bible REALLY teaches and what a personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ is all about! Thank you, Lord! Our Praise In my distress I cried to the Lord, and He heard me. Deliver my soul, O Lord, from lying lips and a deceitful tongue. Psalm 120:1,2 (NKJV) For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but My kindness shall not depart from you, says the Lord, who has mercy on you. Isaiah 54:10 (NKJV) Behold, happy is the man whom God corrects; Therefore, do not despise the chastening of the Almighty. Job 5:17 (NKJV) Hallelujah! Salvation, glory, and power belong to our God, because His judgments are true and righteous, because He has judged the notorious prostitute who corrupted the earthwith her sexual immorality; and He has avenged the blood of His servants that was on her hands. Revelation 19:1,2 (CSB). Don't My words bring good to the one who walks uprightly? Micah 2:7 (CSB) I love You, Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress, and my deliverer, mt God, my mountain where I seek refuge, my shield, and the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I was saved from my enemies. Psalm 18:1-3 (CSB) Then the Spirit took me up, and I heard behind me a voice of a great rushing, saying, Blessed be the glory of the Lord from His place. Ezekiel 3:12 (KJV) Even from the days of your fathers ye have gone away from mine ordinances, and have not kept them. Return to me, and I will return to you, saith the Lord of hosts. . . . Malachi 2:7 (KJV) Grace for the Moment (Excerpt), Volume 2 By Max Lucado God’s Surprises “No one has ever imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” I Corinthians 2:9 Have you ever got God figured out? Have you got God captured on a flowchart and frozen on a flannelboard? If so, then listen. Listen to God’s surprises. 'Hear the rocks' meant for the body of the adulterous woman to drop to the ground. Listen as the Messiah whispers to the Samaritan woman, “I who speak to you am he.” Listen to the widow from Nain eating dinner with her son who is supposed to be dead. . . God appearing in the strangest of places. Doing the strangest of things. Stretching smiles where there had only been frowns. Placing twinkles where there were only tears. from Six Hours One Friday God, Al Gore, and Global Warming By Kathy S. McBride Sound the alert! Earth is warming at an alarming rate! The earth's overall temperature is higher now than in the last 400 years. The polar ice caps are melting and great chunks of long-frozen icebergs are breaking off and falling into the sea. In fact, I saw a news story just a few days ago which reported that a 42-square-mile block of ice departed the polar ice cap region in Iceland, the largest ever recorded if I understood correctly. Most scientists and naturalists alike believe that continued destruction of the world's frozen wastelands will be detrimental to wildlife and put many species in danger of extinction, chief among them the polar bears. Not only that, profuse meltdown of earth's polar regions would greatly increase the depths of the oceans and thus flood coastal cities worldwide. Furthermore, many other regions have experienced prolonged record high temperatures. The weather seems to have gone haywire worldwide with drought, wildfires, floods, mudslides, tornadoes, you-name-it, dominating nearly every newscast. Is global warming to blame? The answer: it depends on who you ask. Al Gore says a definitive, "Yes." God says, "No." So which is it? Can both God and man be right? "Yes." Or, "Yes" to some "degree." Mr. Gore, the former Senator from Tennessee and failed Presidential hopeful, has an admirable passion for the welfare of the environment, particularly where pollution and global warming are concerned. No one should fault Mr. Gore for his passionate concern about the devastating effects man's pollution and wastefulness have on our earth. He is concerned not only for the immediate changes being seen in earth's climate - which he attributes directly to the depletion of the earth's ozone due to pollution - but also fears for the legacy that we will leave the next generation. Noble concerns indeed and Mr. Gore should be commended both for his love for this earth as well as his concern over how mankind is destroying it. In fact, he has even completed a movie, An Inconvenient Truth, produced by Paramount Classics and featuring Al Gore himself, warning of the horrendous consequences if we do not make radical changes in our behavior now in order to save the earth. [Note: I have not personally seen this film. -ksm] While there are but few who argue that Mr. Gore is wrong, there are some who question his thinking as well as that of the scientific community as a whole. Some point out that earth's history is filled with dramatic changes in atmospheric phenomena that proved to be not so dramatic afterall. Some say that it is entirely natural for the earth to warm and cool intermittently with no detrimental consequences whatsoever. So who is right? Shall we look to the Creator God for some clarification in this matter? Does the Bible, in fact, have anything to say about "global warming?" Let's turn to its wisdom for some answers. You may be surprised. ". . .and the time has come to destroy those who destroy the earth." Revelation 11:18, CSB. Now, that is direct evidence from the Bible that some are destroying the earth before the time of Christ's Second Coming. But notice that it is Jesus Christ Himself Who will halt the destruction - not man! We might perhaps be on the brink of total annihilation of this planet through wars, chemical and nuclear conflagration, pollution, ozone depletion, and more, but it is THE LORD GOD WHO WILL END THE DESTRUCTION, NOT MANKIND. God will not permit man to completely destroy His creation - no! He will finish what puny man has only but started. No one will lay claim to The Eternal's power to halt the destruction of what He Himself created! Notice something very important in the following verse: God Himself is bringing intense heat onto the peoples of the earth as part of His Judgment. "The fourth [angel] poured out his bowl on the sun. He was given the power to burn people with fire, and people were burned by the intense heat. So they blasphemed the name of God who had the power over these plagues, and they did not repent and give Him glory." Revelation 16:8,9, CSB . The time of the seven last plagues on planet earth will be HORRENDOUS and HORRIYFING for mankind because it will be God's wrath poured out without mercy. We currently are being prodded by The Holy Spirit to repent and be saved while there is still time, but the Day is coming - and soon I believe the signs indicate - when God's mercy will be completely withdrawn and only those who are truly God's people will be saved and through that tremendous ordeal of judgment on the last day sinners. Even most of God's people will die during this awful slaughter of the saints by the false "religious government" during earth's final days. "Then I heard a voice from heaven saying, "Write: Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on. "Yes," says the Spirit, "let them rest from their labors, for their works follow them!" Revelation 14:13, CSB. Friends, there are FEARSOME times soon coming on this earth and I invite each and every one of you to pick up a copy of The Holy Bible and read the entire book of Revelation . Don't worry that you don't understand it all or that you don't know the meaning of all its symbolism: that is not nearly as important as understanding that those plagues will fall on all those of us who are unrepantant! We don't have to worry so much about global warming [although we should do our part to respect and care for God's creation]; our real concern should be for "God's warming!" The Almighty is able to keep this planet together and safe from the ravages of the human race far beyond what we might think. We don't give God nearly enough credit. In fact, we only think of Him in human terms - if we think of Him at all - and bring Him down to our level. Friends, He wants to elevate us to His level if we will only let Him! ". . .and if He rescued righteous Lot, distressed by the unrestrained behavior of the immoral (for he lived among them, that righteous man tormented himself day by day with the lawless deeds he saw and heard) - then the Lord knows how to rescue the godly from trials and to keep the unrighteous under punishment until the day of judgment, especially to those who follow the polluting desires of the flesh and despise authority." 2 Peter 2:7-10, CSB. There is hope for the righteous and terror for the ungodly in those short verses. Which category each of us falls into is totally our choice. We can have the priviledge of being a true child of God or we can have the dishonor and horrors awaiting those who choose to remain sinners. Our destiny is our own choosing. We need not fear that our coastal cities will one day be under water. God has promised that they won't be; He has that under control too. "He hath compassed the water with bounds, until the day and night come to an end." Job 26:10, KJV. No complete destruction will come to this planet without God's permission or say. He is in absolute control and His will will be done. "But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolators, and all liars shall have their part in the lake of fire which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death." Revelation 21:8, NKJV. Friends, none of us want to be partakers in that flaming second death! If anyone reading this is not sure about salvation, I pray that you will repent of your sins and ask the Lord Jesus Christ's forgiveness, and then live for Him in a way that is true and pleasing in order that His Second Coming will be your rescue and not your punishment! But for now, relax, Al. We don't have to worry too much about global warming. But God's warming . . .well, that's another matter entirely. "My flesh trembles for fear of You, and I am afraid of Your judgments." Psalm 119:120, NKJV. Thank you again, my fellow believers, for your faith in God and your support of my own humble ministry. If this newsletter is a blessing to you, I invite you to ask others to subscribe to it by visiting my website (link below) and signing up. There is never any cost or obligation of any kind. Also, should anyone NOT want to receive this newsletter any more, please click the "safe unsubscribe" button below to be removed from our mailing list. I also urge each of you to send in YOUR praises to the good and gracious Lord God! He has blessed us all so much and we should be eager to share publicly our thanks to Him. Praise the Lord!! Until next time, Kathy S. McBride Promises and Praise -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- email: kathysmcbride@ksmcbride.com phone: 270-890-8938 web: http://www.jesuswillreturnsoon.com Forward email This email was sent to kathysmcbride@yahoo.com, by kathysmcbride@ksmcbride.com Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. Powered by Promises and Praise | P. O. Box 847 | Hopkinsville | KY | 42241-0847 |
 |
 |
Copyright (c)2007 JESUS WILL RETURN SOON & OurChurch.com
Web Hosting and Design by OurChurch.Com | Administrator |