Is it indispensable for a true Christian to have zeal? Will we suffer loss and be punished by God, if we lack zeal? The answer to these questions is, “yes”, because zeal is defined in Scripture as to be “hot, in earnest, to be fervent”  (compare Strong’s Concordance No.2204 (Greek)). The spiritual virtue of zeal is rendered as “strong love” in Isaiah 37:32 (compare “Easy To Read Version”).

Jesus Christ has this zeal, for we read in Isaiah 59:17 that He “was clad with zeal as a cloak”, wearing it over His armor. This means, we are to be fervent in all aspects of the armor of God, which is described in Ephesians, chapter 6. This includes the belt or girdle of truth, the breastplate of righteousness, feet to proclaim the gospel of peace, the shield of faith, the helmet of salvation, the sword of the Spirit, which is the Word of God, and finally praying always. These are all parts of the armor. Isaiah 59:21 emphasizes the sword of the Spirit: “My Spirit [which] is upon you, and My words which I have put in your mouth, shall not depart from your mouth…”

God expects us to have zeal and a strong love for His Word and not to sanitize, whitewash or soften it, so that it has no effect on the hearers. “For the word of God is living and powerful” (Hebrews 4:12).

In Ezekiel 3:4, it is stated: “Son of man, go to the house of Israel and speak with My words to them!” And what is the purpose? “… hear a word from My mouth, and give them warning from Me” (Ezekiel 3:17). What warning is this? For example, “One-third of you shall die of the pestilence, and be consumed with famine in your midst; and one-third shall fall by the sword all around you; and I will scatter another third to all the winds, and I will draw out a sword after them… and they shall know that I, the LORD, have spoken it in My zeal, when I have spent My fury upon them” (Ezekiel 5:12-13).

Why must we speak these words to them? The answer is here: “If you do not speak to warn the wicked  from his way… his blood I will require at your hand” (Ezekiel 33:8). We must show Israel and all peoples the soon-coming worldwide destruction. In Matthew 24:14, we read that the gospel of the Kingdom is to be announced to them  “as a witness…”  Strong’s Concordance No.3142 (Greek) defines giving witness as including giving “evidence of the Decalogue (the ten commandments) in the sacred Tabernacle, to give a testimony”, so that our nations can avoid this destruction and show repentance by keeping the Ten Commandments.

Why does God want us to speak such terrible words of a warning witness to the houses of Israel, Judah and all nations? Focusing on Judah as an example, God explains His purpose for His warnings, through His Church, in Jeremiah 36:3 and 7, when He says: “It may be that the house of Judah will hear all the adversities which I purpose to bring upon them, that everyone may turn from his evil way, that I may forgive their iniquity and their sin… For great is the anger and the fury that the LORD has pronounced against this people.”

Do we have the zeal to do this?

Occasionally, we hit rough patches, don’t we? Sometimes our difficulties swarm around us, triggering a wide array of reactions, many of them not-so-good. I relate, and much more than I would like to admit. The feelings of being overwhelmed, frustrated, upset, angry, helpless, among many other negative emotions trap me most when I let my guard down, lose sight of my values, and become weak. I don’t think I’m alone in having a positive attitude that sometimes fails.

The hardest part is having the conscious awareness that I should know better. It is helpful to know that the situations causing me to stumble are insignificant when placed in the right perspective, but it is not always helpful. Even with the truth of the matter staring me in the face, emotions persist and the hardness of reality refuses to bend. The question then emerges, “what is one to do when struggling against one’s self?” The answer? Quite simply, give up.

Give up fighting alone. Our weakness becomes strengthened immeasurably when we use the resources made available to us by God. Ephesians 6:11 reminds us to “Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” Without Godly truth, righteousness, the gospel of peace, faith, salvation, prayer, and the Holy Spirit, we are defenseless against the force of frustration that we may face. When we make use of what God has freely provided to us, we have an immense and powerful hope that can lead us to bravely overcome our struggles.

Give up relying on our own strength. Submitting ourselves to God and admitting to that we are not strong enough to solve our problems alone is extremely humbling. But, we are reminded that even Jesus Christ proclaimed without shame that He could do nothing without God. We are in the same position. Jesus Himself tells us about how He is behind everything that we do. When His word was recorded in John 15:5, He said, “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me and I in him bears much fruit. For without me you can do nothing.” There is strength in knowing that when we allow Jesus Christ to live in us, He supports us in doing everything. How encouraging it is to know that we have such an Advocate!

Give up on relying on our own view of an immovable reality, and instead prove our faith. Having the faith of Christ, that God will fulfill His plan – no matter what – is the hope that we must have. This same hope gives us the power to see through sticky and nasty situations presented to us. Our faith must not be empty, but proven by action. James 2:22 tells us that faith is made perfect by action. We do this by acting consistently with our beliefs. By contrast, a discouraged spirit causes us to act contrary to our faith. There is no way to perfect our faith with a hopeless attitude. Reminding ourselves of the substance of our faith is vital to overcoming difficult situations.

However, there is one thing we must not give up on – trying. When we give up trying, we give in to the snares of Satan, allowing him to govern the course of our behavior. By continuing to try to overcome the difficulties of life, we make our faith manifest and prove our trust in God. Psalm 55:22 gives us some good advice, “Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” We cannot forget that we have the hope and strength of God to support us as long as we don’t give up on Him.

Is life better for you now than it was last year? Have you personally made improvements in any areas that have held you back?

Jesus Christ said, “‘…I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly’” (John 10:10). Is that even possible today? When we consider the frightening state of humanity, isn’t it simply a matter of just hanging on to what we have—much less to be really challenging ourselves to take on problems that will, after all, best be resolved when we are changed into Spirit?

This is, unfortunately, the kind of spiritual malaise that has settled into the lives of many members of the household of God—people who were once zealous, fired up for the Work of God and striving to overcome sin through greater and greater commitment by obedience to God!

Growth is spoken of in reference to the Church of God, and that has to do with a responsibility placed on each one of us. Consider what Paul wrote in the Book of Ephesians (NASB version):

“‘but speaking [better: holding] the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by what every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love’” (Ephesians 4:15-16).

There are a couple of ways we can measure “growth in the body,” and one is found in another of Paul’s letters:

“Examine yourselves as to whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Do you not know yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you are disqualified [margin: do not stand the test]” (2 Corinthians 13:5).

Another determination for us to consider is our committed personal involvement in the Work of the Church of God—the Work Jesus Christ is overseeing as Head of the Church (compare Ephesians 1:22; 4:15; 5:23; Colossians 1:18).

Lest we forget, our goal remains before us, and that is to become “‘…perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect’” (Matthew 5:48). Also, this is exactly the ultimate purpose Paul understood that his preaching was to focus on, and he expressed this when he said of Jesus Christ:

“Him we preach, warning every man and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus” (Colossians 1:28).

Take this to heart—we should all be growing, and even though there will be times when the passion of our calling grows a little cool, we must rebound and continue to “stir up the gift of God” advancing toward the perfection that can be ours!

Otherwise, we may just find ourselves stagnating, even declining and slipping back into the destructive society of our day—and the fate which awaits this age is, as the Bible quite pointedly warns, a dead end!

The mass murder in Colorado has shown again the incredible acts of senseless and demonic violence of which man is capable. Questions are asked as to whether gun control would have prevented a “mentally disturbed” man from carrying out his horrendous crimes; and whether the increase in violence, especially in movies and video games, has been responsible for raising indifferent and uncaring children and young adults who have become willing to strike out against their fellow man and a “socially unjust” society. These are clearly important questions to consider, and “political correctness” of leading politicians, “motivating” them not to be motivated to address these “hot potatoes,” sheds further gloomy clouds on the very dark age in which we are living.

Some asked the question as to why God lets these kinds of diabolical actions happen, and whether sin may have anything to do with them. This strikes closer to home. We must understand, once and for all, that this is NOT God’s world. Rather, it is Satan, the god of this present evil age, who is deceiving mankind to sin. He is THE destroyer, intent to do whatever he can to bring havoc and destruction on indifferent and “willfully ignorant” people who become easy targets for the evil prince of darkness and his wicked cohorts.

Our fascination with guns and violence will not contribute to the end of the misuse of guns and violent conduct—it will not create a better world. What is needed is a change of heart—how we think, and for what we stand. In the famous millennial passage of Isaiah 2:2-4, we read about a new world which will be so much different from what we are confronted with today. Satan will have no more influence over unsuspecting and gullible people. Instead, God’s law will be taught (verse 3). The consequence will be unparalleled in human history and truly earth-shaking: “They shall beat their swords into plowshares, And their spears into pruning hooks. Nation shall not lift up sword against nation, Neither shall they learn war anymore.”

Their mind will be receptive to God’s way of life. God’s law will be in their heart (Isaiah 51:7). They will walk in God’s statutes and do them (Ezekiel 11:19-20). They will learn to live peaceably with their neighbor and with other nations. They will finally realize that committing violence against our fellow man will only bring destruction. Peter thought that he had to use his sword and strike the high priest’s servant Malchus to prevent the illegal arrest of Jesus Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. But Christ told him: “Put your sword in its place, for all who take the sword will perish by the sword” (Matthew 26:52).

Psalm 140:11 takes on quite a stern meaning when viewed in this context: “Let evil hunt the violent man to overthrow him.”

When God’s law of love rules in our heart—and love does no harm to our neighbor (Romans 13:10)—then we would not even think of using a gun or a knife against someone. We would not even think of resorting to violence against another human being.

God hates those who love violence (Psalm 12:5). And He tells us: “Violence shall no longer be heard in your land” (Isaiah 60:18).

We cannot change this violent world today, and as long as Satan rules and until Christ returns, violence, mass murders, senseless killings and universal wars will continue. But we are to come out of this world and make ourselves ready for the peaceful world tomorrow. Are we doing this?

In my diary there is a list of religious festivals and today (20th July) is shown as the first day of Ramadan, which is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and the month in which the Quran was “revealed” in the 7th century.   This is the month that Muslims spend fasting during the daylight hours from dawn to dusk.

My diary also shows festivals and dates for a number of different religions: Christian-Western, Christian-Eastern Orthodox, Islamic, Hindu, Buddhist, Sikh, Jewish and Chinese.   Quite an eclectic mix!   And most churchmen today would probably welcome such religious diversity.  

In her essay “Religious Diversity: Some Implications for Monotheism”, Rita M Gross, an international writer, states that “many people value the feeling that their religion is indeed superior to others and regard such religious chauvinism as a necessary component of religious commitment, or even a virtue to be cultivated among the faithful.   In their official theologies, most religions have dealt with religious diversity only in a cursory or inadequate fashion. Frequently, religions have encouraged mutual hostility by teaching that foreign religions are not only different, but also demonic, or at least inferior.”

However, if we believe the Bible, we will read that God says: “… the LORD Himself is God in heaven above and on the earth beneath; there is no other” (Deuteronomy 4:39), and: “Now see that I, even I, am He, And there is no God besides Me” (Deuteronomy 32:39), and: “I am the LORD, and there is no other; There is no God besides Me” (Isaiah 45:5).   There are many other references, but suffice to say that the God of the Bible is very specific on this matter.

In 1 Corinthians 14:33, God states that He “is not the author of confusion”, and my diary contains a page that is a litany of confusion when it prints out all of these various religious festivals.    As if that isn’t enough, professing Christianity is, likewise, a place where there is much confusion and even contention.

The true Church of God that Jesus founded on the day of Pentecost nearly two thousand years ago, is where the true festivals can be found.   There will come a time, after Christ’s return, when any diary will only contain the true Holy Days, and confusion will be gone.   I am sure that all of God’s people pray for that time to come.

And then religious chaos will be no more!

Sometimes we wonder what we can do to help the church… to do our part as we are often admonished.  But too many times we might come to the conclusion that we are too [fill in the blank] to help out. However, there is a way that does not require the resources that we feel that we might not have.

It is the very powerful act of intercessory prayer — praying for others on their behalf. We have the ability by the Holy Spirit; through Christ; to ask God the Father for anything for someone else (Romans 8:26-27, 34).  We can actually tap into the power that created the universe to ask Him to do something for SOMEONE ELSE.

Christ has set this example of intercession for us in John 17, even as the time of His death neared. As His physical life hung in the balance, His thoughts were on us. We are to follow His precedent and do the same — pray for the brethren.

Through this act of selflessness the heavens are the limits to what can be accomplished.  So when we stop and take a step back and look at our life and see it going well, it might not be because of what we have done, but because of what God did… because someone asked Him to do it FOR us.

At times, people may refer to the patience of Job–how he endured hardship and punishment from God and never complained. Of course, that is not true, because Job complained quite a bit. A deeper and more accurate analysis reveals that there are lessons for us to learn from the story of Job, even though Job had a hard time in learning these lessons himself.

Job is dead and the record of events is in the Bible for us to glean from it. Job suffered from two problems which are not as overtly evident as other sins one may have.  He was self-righteous, and he was also proud of his righteousness.  This is most likely why Satan did not see Job’s problems, because he allowed the same kinds of sins to overcome him.

Ezekiel 28:15-17 shows us why Lucifer fell and became Satan the devil. God said to him: “You were perfect in your ways from the day you were created, Till iniquity was found in you. By the abundance of your trading You became filled with violence within, And you sinned; Therefore I cast you as a profane thing Out of the mountain of God; And I destroyed you, O covering cherub, From the midst of the fiery stones. Your heart was lifted up because of your beauty; You corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor; I cast you to the ground, I laid you before kings, That they might gaze at you.”

It’s interesting that Satan corrupted his wisdom and became proud and self-righteous. Once the mind of a spirit being or a human being is corrupted with sin, it cannot think right.  It is like a virus in a computer. If you do not deal with it early, it will corrupt the whole computer.

Paul understood this when he stated that a little leaven leavens the whole lump.  A little sin, not dealt with, corrupts the whole mind, and that was where Job was heading. God had to intervene to break this vicious cycle. Just think of how entrenched Job’s problem was. He lost all his possessions; his children were taken from him; he had sores all over his body; and even his wife turned against him with discouraging words, saying: “Curse God and die.”

Job suffered great loss, but in the end, when he finally saw his problems and repented deeply of them, God blessed him with more than what he had at the beginning, as Job 42:12-17 explains to us:

“Now the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. And he called the name of the first Jemimah, the name of the second Keziah, and the name of the third Keren-Happuch. In all the land were found no women so beautiful as the daughters of Job; and their father gave them an inheritance among their brothers. After this Job lived one hundred and forty years, and saw his children and grandchildren for four generations. So Job died, old and full of days.”

Job will be in God’s Kingdom because he repented of the corrupting sins, which he, in his self-righteousness and pride, could not see.  He even accused God of unrighteousness, because he wanted to maintain his self-righteousness. But Job’s sins were very evident to God, and had to be dealt with.

The lesson we must extract from this is that we must be very careful to deal with sin early, and not allow it to corrupt our minds, since we also want to be in God’s Kingdom along with Job. And further, if we don’t deal with our sins, God will, because He has called us for salvation and not for condemnation.

Genesis 1 tells us that God prepared the earth for mankind to live on and rule over. So how are we doing?

By most measures, not so well. The first man and woman couldn’t even rule themselves! Seduced by false advertising (Genesis 3:4-5), they stole what wasn’t theirs (Genesis 2:17, 3:6) and blamed “someone else” when they got caught (Genesis 3:11-13). This unpromising start was quickly followed by unjustified anger (Genesis 4:5-7), cold-blooded murder (Genesis 4:8), and arrogant lies (Genesis 4:9-10). 

What was the result of this misrule? In Genesis 6 God gives mankind this discouraging report card: “…all flesh had corrupted their way on the earth…” (Genesis 6:12). What started as “very good” (Genesis 1:31), mankind had completely corrupted (Genesis 6:1-13).

Grieved over their mismanagement and mistreatment of Himself and each other (Genesis 6:6), God told His servant Noah that He would put an end to that utterly evil age (Genesis 6:8-9; 7:1). God warned that destruction was coming and that His servant should prepare if he wanted to escape (Genesis 6:13-21)

That was Noah’s time. What about our time? Did God proclaim a warning for our day and age? How corrupt do YOU think our day and age is right now?

A better question may be, is there ANYTHING mankind hasn’t corrupted in our day and age?

How about something as simple as food?

The US Department of Agriculture estimates that 80-90% of all corn and soybeans are genetically engineered. At least 246 million acres of farm land around the world are planted with Monsanto’s genetically-engineered “technology.”

To make livestock grow bigger and faster we inject them with growth hormones, feed them the blood and ground-up remains of dead (and diseased) animals, and pump them full of antibiotics when they get sick. Very little food in the United States is produced in accordance with God’s laws. We have utterly corrupted it in our day and age.

What about business and economics?

The U.S. Department of Treasury estimates that American households lost $19.2 TRILLION dollars in household wealth due to the recent financial crisis. Hundreds of billions have been spent to bail out failed companies whose leaders knowingly engaged in bad (and sometimes criminal) practices. Billions in penalties have been assessed for tax fraud, accounting fraud, and securities fraud. Millions lost their jobs, millions more lost their homes and trillions have been added to the U.S. Government debt (it’s almost $16 trillion and growing fast). Which businesses or politicians do we trust? Not many!

Business and economics have been utterly corrupted in our day and age.

What about families and education?

Gay marriage and abortion are being legalized, while teaching anything about God in many public schools is being made illegal.

Almost 50% of marriages are terminated by divorce, and 20% of births terminated by abortion. Worldwide, about 42 million babies are killed via abortion every year. That’s almost 1/2 billion babies in 10 years!

Add to this adultery, fornication, pornography, child abuse, domestic abuse, and drug abuse. Add to that violence in our streets, violence in our homes and violence in war.  Greed, fraud, violence, waste and every form of lust and abuse abound in our day and age!

What does the Bible say the world will be like just prior to Christ’s return? Christ said it would be like the days of Noah (Matthew 24:38-39). He said it would be like it is today!

We don’t know exactly when the Great Tribulation just prior to Christ’s return will start (Matthew 24:21, 36). But when we look at prophecy being fulfilled (as shown in our weekly Updates), and truly understand the corruption that permeates virtually every aspect of our societies, it seems those days are quickly approaching. When Noah was warned about God’s coming judgment, he believed and prepared. When we look at the signs of our times and hear warnings about God’s coming judgment, do we believe? Are we now preparing? Are we ready for Christ’s return if it happens in our lifetime?

My family and I are in the final days of preparation for a two-week summer vacation. As I reflect upon the planning we have completed, I’m stunned at how much time and effort it can take to get everything in order. The list of preparations we have made include setting our travel routes, tuning up the van, researching activities to enjoy along the way, cleaning and folding the laundry, packing, making arrangements to have our home and dog taken care of, and much, much more. With as much planning as we have done already, it seems that there is still an endless amount of things that we could do to prepare even better. Even though there may be things left unplanned, with each step of organization we become more confident that we will have a fun, fulfilling, and successful trip. I consider the work spent planning our vacation to be an extremely valuable investment, which we will enjoy the return on over the next two weeks.

I did not always advocate such rigorous planning, however. I used to be very skeptical about the value of planning. Perhaps the cause of my skepticism was my youthful idealism, giving impulse and spontaneity greater priority. Perhaps it was the stories I’d heard about elaborate plans failing miserably. Perhaps it was the belief that planned time was not free. Perhaps I felt that planning my time reduced my ability to take advantage of unexpected opportunities. Whatever the cause was, I frequently resisted careful planning and gave way to caprice instead, believing that I would live a more rich life by leaving my options open, not bound by plans.

Eventually, I learned that it is easier, less stressful, and more enjoyable to be more deliberate with the use of my time. Living without plans for the sake of leaving options available is analogous to a sail boat refusing to raise a sail at sea for fear of having to choose a direction. While any direction is possible, no destination will be reached without some commitment. Reaching any destination or goal requires setting a direction and taking the incremental steps to arrive there. Doing this successfully requires thought, research, planning, and activity. Through experience, I have learned that investing effort into these planning activities pays off. 

The fact that God is a planner establishes the importance of planning. He has made His goal very clear in that He will establish a Kingdom and a Family on Earth. Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 2:7, “But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained before the ages for our glory,” which reminds us that God’s plan has been in effect for a very long time.  The plan of salvation that God has in effect right now is very intricate as well. You and I have a very specific purpose in this plan of God, “who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began” (2 Timothy 1:9). There is no greater example of rigorous preparation than that of God’s great plan to establish His Kingdom on the Earth. It is clear that God does not have a corner left unprepared and open to risk of failure. This should encourage us to live by this example, and prepare ourselves well for the fulfillment of this same plan. The effort spent on thought, learning, improving, and putting God’s ways of life into practice will pay off if we are in alignment with this plan.

While planning and preparation are indispensable to the life of a Christian, it is important to note that there are things that simply cannot be planned. Since we know that Jesus Christ will return at an hour that we do not expect (Luke 12:40), there is a limit to how precisely we can plan for the return of Jesus Christ. It is important to know that all plans have limitations. We can expect that unexpected events will occur, throwing careful plans into a tail-spin if they are too rigid. However, when we prepare spiritually, we will have an easier time making adjustments to set our course in the right direction. 

Consider the difference between two different approaches implied when Jesus Christ describes the time of the tribulation, written in Matthew 24:17-18. “Let him who is on the housetop not go down to take anything out of his house. And let him who is in the field not go back to get his clothes.” It is clear that a careful plan for survival will fail without a righteous goal. Our plans and preparations must be spiritually driven, so that moments requiring a correct response will be executed correctly. It is the way in which we plan to act that is important, much more than the precise execution of a specific step in our plan, at a specific point in time. It is therefore vital, not only that we prepare and make plans for the coming Kingdom of God, but that we do so correctly; with a clear understanding of God’s perfect will, only available through the gift of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 2:12).

Driving to where we meet for Sabbath Services this past week, my wife and I noticed an ominous billowing plume of smoke—the tell-tale sign of an erupting forest fire.
 
Now, the city of Fort Collins, Colorado, is making national and international news because of its close proximity to what has become a raging inferno consuming over forty-thousand acres, including reports of terrible destruction and even death.
 
For those so suddenly displaced and virtually fleeing for their lives, the loss has been heart-rending. The possessions of a lifetime are gone. The future is bleak and uncertain, and their way forward will doubtless leave them emotionally wounded along with the challenge to rebuild their lives.
 
The outpouring of help has been remarkable, and this community has been blessed with abundant resources for just times like this. This disaster is proving to be life-changing for a lot of people, but it is—as many disasters are—manageable.
 
However, for those who closely follow the prophetic teachings of the Word of God, we know that the world is on the threshold of such cataclysmic occurrences that no one is prepared, and few will even survive. For those who do, it will be in a world that has been saved from the brink of total annihilation.
 
Here is how Jesus Christ spoke of this future, and how He promised help for those who are faithful to Him—called here and other places in the Bible, the “elect”:
 
“‘And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened’” (Matthew 24:22). 
 
Of course this is very encouraging for us who seek to follow the lead of Jesus Christ and to be obedient to God, but what about everyone else? Do we have any responsibility for others? While many will help in times of need and prove to be generous following times of difficulty, our challenge is to provide the help BEFORE disaster comes!
 
The way we are to do this is to boldly proclaim the gospel of the Kingdom of God; to teach a true understanding of what it means to be a Christian; to reach out to those who respond and to help them become a part of God’s “elect.”
 
Disaster is coming, and we have been given an understanding from God about the future. Will we be prepared, personally, and will we be the ones who help alert the world of the tribulation which will devastate all people?