God Does Not Pass Out Paychecks

"Not everyone who says to me, Lord, Lord, shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name?' and I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from me, you evildoers.' " Matthew 7

The people described by Jesus above believe that they can earn God's love and favor. There are whole religions based on this premise, yet, Jesus says, "I never knew you." So what is the will of the Father?

"Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. this man came to Jesus by night and said to him, 'Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God; for no one can do these signs that you do, unless God is with him.' Jesus answered, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born anew, he cannot see the kingdom of God.' " John 3

The will of the Father is that we be born anew by choosing to accept the sacrifice and resurrection of Jesus. Think of it God creates man along with a beautiful home where man can live safely. There is only one commandment - "do not eat from the tree of knowledge of good and evil." One commandment and man does it anyway. The result should have been eternal death.

Instead our Creator - our King - dies for us. He loved us so much that He died for us and all we have to do is believe. And still, preachers and priests are instructing their parishioners on what they need to do to obtain God's favor! Where was the message lost? It was so simple - just believe and everything He has is yours. Our entrance into God's kingdom is not based on our works - but His works.

God does not pass out paychecks - he bestows gifts.

The Fig Tree Produces Fruit in May

Jeremiah's vision of the first dispersion: "..and the Lord showed me this vision - behold two baskets of figs placed before the temple of the Lord. One basket had very good figs, like first-ripe figs and the other basket had very bad figs, so bad they could not be eaten." Jeremiah 24

Further reference to the good figs and the bad figs. "On the following day, when they came from Bethany, he was hungry. And seeing in the distance a fig tree in leaf, he went to see if he could find anything on it. When he came to it, he found nothing but leaves, for it was not the season for figs." Mark 11. Immediately after this Jesus drives the money changers from the temple.

It is estimated that the genus we know as the fig tree began over 5,000 years ago. It is accepted that Adam and Eve covered themselves with fig leaves after their sin. Fig trees require at least eight hours each day in sunlight which is why they are usually grown in warm, dry climates. Figs have a long juvenile development (four to five years) before maturing and producing fruit. A mature fig tree will produce its first harvest in May (Israel, May 1947).

"From the fig tree learn its lesson: as soon as it branch becomes tender and puts forth its leave, you know that summer is near. So also, when you see all these things, you know that he is near, at the very gates. Truly, I say to you, this generation will not pass away till all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will not pass away." Matthew 24

So what is a generation? "For all our days pass away under thy wrath, our years come to an end like a sign. the years of our life are threescore and ten, or even by reason of strength fourscore; yet their span is but toil and trouble; they are soon gone and we fly away." Psalms 90

This month - May, 2011 - Israel turned 63 years old. The people who saw Israel's birth will soon turn 70 or 80 (7-17 years). Then heaven and earth will pass away. Repent, believe and be saved.

Pearls of Wisdom

Pearls were the first gem treasured by ancient man. Refined by nature, this precious gem was gathered along with an important food source by coastal peoples - comparable to the prize found in a box of Cracker Jack's when we were young.

Pearls are commonly reserved for special occasions. Sadly, the iridescent qualities of pearls are discolored with a lack of use. Pearls need to soak up liquids and oils to retain their lustre. Packaged away, they will dry out fading and cracking. Just like muscles, you use them or lose them.

The Word of God are Pearls of Wisdom. You use them, or you lose them. Jesus said to his disciples in Mark 4:24-25 "And he said to them, "Take heed what you hear; the measure you give will be the measure you get, and still more will be given you. For to him who has will more be given; and from him who has not, even what he has will be taken away."

Read the Word - understand the Word. If you cannot understand there are great commentaries a Google search away. Meditate on the Word and share the Word. Wear the Word - for by wearing the Word - more revelation will be given to you. If not - even what you do know will be taken away.

Son of Man

I have often wondered why Jesus referred to himself as the Son of Man in the gospels and not the title - Son of God or Messiah. So I did some research. I found - as with anything that God does - there was not a linear reason for this title, but one multifaceted reason.

Reason #1 Jesus came first for his chosen people, the Hebrews, so he spoke in phrases they would understand. The phrase 'Son of Man' refers to the Book of Daniel, the prophet of the Old Testament. " I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a Son of Man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. And to him was given dominion and glory and kingdom, that all peoples, nations and languages should serve him." The Hebrews of the first century would have understood that the Son of Man was the Messiah.

Reason #2 Satan knew him, but didn't know why he had come to earth. In Matthew 4:1 we see that the Holy Spirit drove Jesus into the wilderness. It was here that Satan confronted him - while he was alone. Satan knew who he was - "If you are the Son of God, command these stones to become loves of bread." Satan knew who he was but did not know the purpose for his visit. If your enemy suddenly appeared in your territory, you would quickly go to your enemy to determine the purpose of his visit. Jesus wanted to keep the purpose of his earthly visit a secret. If he had referred to himself as the Messiah, Satan would have known the exact plan of God, and would try to thwart the plan. All the details of the Messiah (dying on a tree, the final sacrificial lamb) are prophesied in the Old Testament. Even Satan knows what is written in the scriptures, but he has no foreknowledge and cannot read our minds.

I think these two reasons are why Jesus was silent about his title, Son of God. The scriptures are the battle plans for the restoration of man and the earth. Many of those plans are written in code to keep the enemy confused. To decipher the code, a person must possess the Holy Spirit, and to possess the Holy Spirit, you must accept Jesus as your Lord and Savior.

Sophie's Journal Part 3

I did not go upstairs in my dream, so I cannot give an account of the second floor. Animal sounds beckoned me outside. I walked towards the barn and adjoining paddock. Inside the paddock, five goats watched me with their vertical pupils and whitened goatees. Chickens scurried around the yard pecking at invisible insects. I walked through the front door of the barn and was surprised by the implements. These were not the machinery of the twenty-first century. The plow was a simple implement that would have been pulled by a horse. Alongside a rake-like instrument stood with like a giant hair comb with a bridle waiting for an animal to power. The air was heavy with the scent of hay and animal. A low moan from the rear of the barn revealed a large draft horse in a stall. I walked through the back door of the barn to find a coop surrounded by a cube of fencing where the chickens would spend their nights in safety. Another small building lay beyond the coop. The smell from inside and the hooks hanging from the rafters helped me to decide this building was used for smoking meats. To the right of the smokehouse a stone building straddled the small creek that ran from the pond out front, but it was the building on the left that drew me further. It was another house.

This house was smaller that than the great house, but still boasted two stories and a nice porch which wrapped around the outside. It was painted a muted red and scrolled gingerbread hung from the roofline and the windows. A lone rocking chair sat next to the door which I found unlocked, so I entered. The front room was a small sitting room with a couch, a few chairs, tables and a writing desk in the corner. The furniture had been placed in alignment with the fireplace as though to gather an advantage to the heat emitted by future fires. The next room was a kitchen, but without modern accoutrements. A fireplace, an iron stove and a sink with a hand pump were all the appliances afforded in this space. The rest of the slate floor was occupied by various cabinets, tables, chairs and counters. For a kitchen, the space was large and the many windows provided ample light, but there was no electricity as evidenced by kerosene lamps hanging from the rafters waiting for a lit match when dusk approached. I walked to the back door of the kitchen and found a primitive room with bare wood walls and various herbs and flower hung to dry. A washstand, wash tub and water pump stood by so I named this room the washhouse. A door led to the back porch and I was surprised to see an old butter churn standing next to a cane chair. Beyond the porch a well-tended kitchen garden delighted my nose with the smell of basil and rosemary. Corn stalks supported the pole beans and squash ringed each grouping. I had heard of this type of planting - utilized by Native Americans and taught to the colonial people centuries before. The corn stalks support the beans without staking and the squash vines cover the surrounding ground for weed reduction and water retention. Realizing that I was dreaming, I wondered whether I had moved from the present – the house with the solar panels, modern kitchen and computer – to the past. It was not so.

My last dream of this place convinced me that both houses – the new and old – occupied the same space of time, and I feared that space of time was the future. In my last dream, I moved from the red house and its kitchen garden up the hill. I could see that an orchard had been planted there. Apples and peaches hung heavy from some of the trees while other trees appeared to have nuts peeking from under their leaves. I walked to the crest of the hill and reached to pick a fully ripened apple from a tree when I heard a loud noise behind me. Frightened by the sound, I jumped and dropped my apple. It was curious, but I did not turn towards the sound, but stooped to pick up my apple from the ground. I rose and looked at the apple with sadness as though something precious was about to end. I knew if I looked behind me, there was no turning back. Whatever was behind me was no friend; no ease. So, I continued to study the rosy skin of the apple dappled with tiny yellow spots. I brought the apple to my nose to savor the pungent fragrance and to feel its warm surface against my lips. I wanted to bite into the apple and savor the juice running down my hand. But I didn’t. I knew the sight behind me would only cause me to regurgitate whatever was in my stomach, so I let the apple fall, and I turned around towards the south. I sighed and tears came to my eyes. It had begun for I saw the gray cloud rising and even at this distance; I could feel its hot wind on my face.