A GREAT Sign In The Heavens!!

[Adapted from Revelation chapter 12 with cross references referenced.]
~ A GREAT sign in the heavens!! A woman with a crown of twelve stars, in agony to give birth to a son, a child of mankind who will rule and shatter all nations with iron law (Ps 2:9) and His Kingdom will be a Kingdom that never ends..
     A fiery red dragon stands in readiness to devour the child! King Herod killing every boy child in Bethlehem!
.....Rachel is weeping.. weeping for her children and cannot be consoled.. But the child is caught up to heaven and the right hand of God's throne and in rage the dragon pursues the woman, razing the old, and the new woman runs..
. . . There's war in heaven, Michael and his angels against the dragon and his one third of the angels.. Now restricted from the heavens, in great wrath he pursues and inquisitions the woman.. She's given the two wings of a great eagle that she may sail fast to a new land.. where for three and a half modern divisions of time she is kept safe from the fierce face of the dragon, but then the serpent guise of the dragon spews a flood and proliferation after the woman to wash her away from the face of the earth, so that the eagle may lose its wings, but if they crucify who they did in a green leaf, what will they do in a dry???
. . . Then the dragon's armies will surround the other children of the woman who have the commandments of God, and by now, have the testimony of Jesus..
O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, how oft I would have gathered you as a hen gathers her chicks! You'll not see me again until you say "blessed is He who comes in the name of the LORD"!

Soon

There's going to come a time very soon when we're going to have to put down our pens.. get our fingers off the keys.. and get on our knees and on our faces before God. Because it's coming down the tubes and it coming down fast..

What Is Life? Where Are We From? Where Are We Going?

As for me, I have always had a very strong desire to know truth, utter truth, and nothing but the truth. What is life? Where do we come from? Or did come from? ..what is life? and also where, if anywhere, are we headed? So I started my search at a bunch of very good libraries all around Denver, Colorado (USA) where I was living at the time. I studied some on the world religions, meditation and astrology. Astrology, as to co-incidental figurations in the stars, planets and sun and moon at the time of certain occurrences in the world, or in this case, in my life.. I could go into those and a couple are very, very striking! But that might be another story.. I was learning how to meditate which in this case was how to still one's mind quiet enough one could 'hear' God's voice. The main way of doing that, for me, was to hold an image in my mind, with eyes closed, of an eight pointed radiant star, representing to me all that I had been studying, and I later learned it is the star most shown at Christmas as the Bethlehem star.. basically a star of light which rays are a cross and an x.
 - One day I was in the beautiful foothills of the Rocky Mountains sitting at the side of a hill on a sunny day, when all of a sudden, it seemed as though I could 'see' a thought drift across the very blue sky and hit me in the head! Yes, it hit me in the head. And what the thought said was "you've been studying about different forces at work in the universe, what of the force which created the universe and what if that thought has consciousness?" Then it was like a bright light dawned (like a light bulb turning on as they say when you realize something or put something together) and I exclaimed "God!" and it seemed as though I could feel a strong presence, but one I realized I had always known..
- My life completely changed after that day. It got to be when I was in the foothills or nature, I was happy, could feel His Presence, but anywhere else and He was absent! Which made me feel incomplete and out of sorts, til one day I found a Bible tract at my local post office (I met the lady later who was in the habit of leaving them around town). The tract was titled in large letters "God's Great Plan of Salvation".
 - Well, I'll tell ya, I read that thing 4 times and just could not get a handle on it! Something about being imperfect, which leads to death, aka nonlife. I've later learned God himself is Life and Perfection, but endowed thinking ability which includes being able to make choices, but any move away from what God thinks or does, is to become imperfect, the opposite of life. (If you get my drift..?)
- The tract said if I asked Jesus into my heart I would be "saved" (rescued, my journey toward nonlife checked) by Jesus paying the price of my death for me (and everyone else's).
- It was very unusual, but I was home alone that day, so four times I came out of my room where I had knelt at the side of my bed and said that salvation prayer, but came away sort of unbelieving, not that necessarily I didn't believe its message, but could it be true for me? So that's what I asked. And then the sun was setting over the mountains in the west and the sunlight from it came streaming through an inch of open curtain and shone across the room filling the off tv screen with a radiant eight pointed star. As miracles go, it may be small, but ever since then I've had no doubt.
- That was 33 years ago. And 17 years ago my son asked me two questions, which I answered but I wasn't at all happy with my answers so I prayed for the answers, and they came back to me "boom! boom! boom!" and knocked my socks off! And my socks are still knocked off! The questions were "why did God put the tree of good and evil in the garden" (the tree of knowing good and evil) and "isn't it nice we get to be an ant farm?" (So Cynical for one only 16 at the time!)
 - What I found out was that's the whole thing, we're not an ant farm! The whole 'packet' or 'cloud'(?) of information ended with a question to me! "Why did God wait such a very long time, and only create the universe and man and woman, not only after the first bound to occur rebel thought had occurred (as it did in Lucifer high angel) but after it had fully matured into outright sedition and trickery?"
 - So now I keep a blog where I go into these things I learned, mainly that God is Life and is Perfect and Perfection makes no mistakes, therefor the 'end' result of all this can only be the best one possible.. think of it, God being life, lives through, experiences, and suffers, all sufferings which ever occur! Why would He put Himself through all that? Because He's not creating an ant farm, or robots, but His family and an eternally un-breakable paradise, un-breakable, for all will fully understand good from evil / life from death / true from untrue.

"The God Of Our Salvation"

This is from Andrew Murray's "Waiting On God", from chapter one which is titled "The God Of Our Salvation" and begins with a verse from Psalms "My soul waits only upon God [marg: is silent unto God]; from Him comes my salvation." Ps 62:1

- "The deep need for this waiting on God lies equally in the nature of man and in the nature of God. God as Creator formed man to be a vessel in which He could show forth His power and goodness. Man was not to have in himself a fountain of life, or strength, or happiness. The ever-living and only living One was each moment to be the Communicator to him of all that he needed. Man's glory and blessedness was not to be independent, or dependent upon himself, but dependent on a God of such infinite riches and love. Man was to have the joy of receiving every moment out of the fulness of God... when he fell from God, he was still more absolutely dependent on Him. There was not the slightest hope of his recovery out of his state of death, but in God, His power and mercy. It is God alone who began the work of redemption. It is God alone who continues and carries it on each moment in each individual believer. Even in the regenerate man there is no power of goodness in himself. He has and can have nothing that he does not each moment receive; and waiting on God is just as indispensable, and must be just as continuous and unbroken, as the breathing that maintains his natural life."

Bit Of A Dry Spell

09/19/12 - I've been having a bit of a dry spell lately, so I've decided to re-read a book I read at the beginning of my "saved" journey. It is called "Waiting On God" by Andrew Murray who lived 1828-1917 and was a very energetic and motivated, prolific writer. I like how the foreword of the book describes him as an elderly gent very intent on what he was writing and would go from book to book, no sooner getting one done and then beginning another. By this time in his life (of writing "Waiting On God") he had developed the habit of writing these little soft cover books in a series of thirty one chapters of a page or two, for easy reading over the course of a month. I'm a slowpoke however and usually take about three days for a chapter!
- This book is about the practice and mindset of always waiting upon/for God. Early on too, around the same time, I also read another great instructional book called "Abide In Me" which was, of course, about the verse and quote of Jesus "I am the vine, you are the branches, abide in me..."
- I bought "Waiting On God" on Ebay a couple or few years ago and plan to look for "Abide In Me" soon, written also, I believe by Andrew Murray.

Keeping Hatred Out of Politics

I read a book once which says there are basically three psychologies to life - "I'm ok, you're not ok" -"I'm not ok, you're ok" -and "I'm ok, you're ok" . Only the third one is healthy. How do we make politics more healthy? By realizing (both) parties mean well, but simply have a different view, and idea, or vision of what will work.

The New Covenant

Contemporary English Version (CEV)
Hebrews 10:39-11:2,6
"...We will keep on having faith until we are saved.. Faith makes us sure of what we hope for and gives us proof of what we cannot see. It was their faith that made our ancestors pleasing to God... without faith no one can please God. We must believe that God is real and that he rewards everyone who searches for him."
Hebrews 10:19,20
"My friends, the blood of Jesus gives us courage to enter the most holy place, by a new way that leads to life! And this way takes us through the curtain that is Christ himself."
Hebrews 6:18-20
"God cannot tell lies! And so his promises and vows are two things that can never be changed. We have run to God for safety. Now his promises should greatly encourage us to take hold of the hope that is right in front of us. This hope is like a firm and steady anchor for our souls. In fact, hope reaches behind the curtain and into the most holy place. Jesus has gone there ahead of us, and he is our high priest forever, just like Melchizedek."
New King James Version (NKJV)
Hebrews 4:16
"Let Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need."
Hebrews 3:14
"For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end.."
Hebrews 3:14
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
"We were sure about Christ when we first became his people. So let’s hold tightly to our faith until the end.."
Colossians 1:27
Young's Literal Translation (YLT)
"..to whom God did will to make known what [is] the riches of the glory of this secret among the nations -- which is Christ in you, the hope of the glory,"
Colossians 1:27
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
"God did this because he wanted you to understand his wonderful and glorious mystery. And the mystery is that Christ lives in you, and he is your hope of sharing in God’s glory."
Ephesians 1:13,14,19,20
Young's Literal Translation (YLT) - Amplified Bible (AMP) - (YLT) - (NKJV)
"..in whom ye also, having heard the word of the truth -- the good news of your salvation -- in whom also having believed, ye were sealed** with the Holy Spirit of the promise, That [Spirit] is the guarantee of our inheritance [the firstfruits, the pledge and foretaste, the down payment on our heritage], in anticipation of its full redemption and our acquiring [complete] possession of it—to the praise of His glory".. (it is) "...the exceeding greatness of His power to us who are believing, according to the working of the power of His might, which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead." (Same Spirit which rose Jesus from the grave, is at work in us - "enter His rest" (Hebrews 4:1&11) "recieve the promise" (Galatians 3:14)
**the "seal" and "proof/guarantee" = "because you [really] are His, God has sent the [Holy] Spirit of His Son into our hearts, crying, Abba Father!" - Galatians 4:6, Amplified Bible (AMP)

Words That Heal

Christians are supposed to be able to speak and pray healing by praying and speaking in the name of Jesus (as if for Him). And even raise the dead on occasion, and not by using a defibrillator... It seems to me it has to be some sort of speaking to the molecules.. And being the children of God, made in His image, is the key.. All part of God's grand agreement, signed in blood no less! (Such a signature is very dramatic, able to strike the heart of every creature). And the proof, pledge, and stamp of guarantee (old term being "surety") is His Presence with us which is the Holy Ghost flowing through us. The proof of His Presence is our heart crying "Father!" [Hooray! My Father! (Your Father, our Father..)]
...That peace which is like a river and swells up into joy.. But very few of us successfully pray or speak a lot of healing.. or maybe we just don't try, or don't have enough peaceful (que sera, sera) confidence..?

More Creativity, Appreciation and Diversity

I heard a Christian rap song today.. It was beautiful! Some people think The Kingdom will be 'boring'.. Not so! It will, of course, be far superior to this world, and life as we presently know it. There will be more creativity and inventiveness, deeper appreciation and complete harmony. And best of all there will be no human failings, no spoiler(s). All things will no longer be "under the law of sin and death" (all things will no longer fall apart and fade away). Truly the sky will be the limit. No back biting, no fraud, no cheating, etc, etc, etc! I believe it's only after this issue of "good and evil" (life and death; true and untrue) has been fully proven and deeply etched upon every heart, mind and psyche, that life will spread throughout the universe..

Clackity Clack, Watch Your Back

The Bible prophecies socialism will devour capitalism.. and the crash of her will be great.. "Rejoice O heavens and Earth".. But it also prophecies what replaces her will be horrific.. "brother will betray brother".. and the knitting needles will go clackity clack..
~~~~~~~~~~~~
Rev 17:16; 18:9,11,20; 20:4; Mark 13:12,13  

Planetary Vision

Psalm 40:6 - Young's Literal Translation (YLT) "Sacrifice and presents Thou hast not desired, Ears Thou hast prepared for me, Burnt and sin-offering Thou hast not asked."
- The teaching of the "opposer", Satan, is human sacrifice, so easy, because the conscience of man knows himself to be quite flawed (as opposed to being utterly perfect and full of love at all times for all). But God trumped Satan by facing the issue squarely by resolving the issue and providing a Most Sacred sacrifice, so holy, it is one which is for all, and for all time. No other sacrifice is ever needed. It is so holy and complete it restores all back to God and oneness with Him, who by nature is Perfection and Life itself (there is and can be no life nor "living" apart from Him). To wander from perfection is to wander from life and can only ever result in non-life. (One of  the opposer's first lies was "surely, you won't, die?")
- Anyone thinking Lucifer is a free spirit who ushered in freedom and enlightenment, should realize everything he proposes ends in death, his goals are planetary, and he comes across as an angel of light.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Why did God wait and only create the universe and mankind after the bound to occur first rebel thought had fully ripened?

Can't Do Any Better Than That!

Hebrews 9:26! You just can't do any better than that! That is to say, what a dramatic and 'cut to the heart' way (what more could anyone give or do?) of rescuing mankind and the planet from the wrong path and death/nonlife, its result and destination.
- Revelation 21:5 "and He who sits on the throne says 'behold I am making all things new'.."
- And not only that, but we get to enter the Most Sacred Place, His Presence, to get all the help we need.. Hebrews 4:16.