"Help For When You Feel Alone Or Stressed" (With Sermon by Adrian Rogers) - Inspirational Weekend

[Lifeboat at Waimea Bay, Oahu, Hawaii]

Concerning what follows in this article, my photograph above is rather symbolic of the subject matter.  Our "lifeboat" is the good Lord and His Holy Word, which also follows that much prayer will strengthen us and help us to endure many trials and hardships.  The rescue surfboard in the photo is symbolic of our rescue by God and Jesus, when we turn to them in faith to help us in our time of need or spiritual battle; our rescue from troubled waters.

This lockdown we are experiencing due to the coronavirus has affected many with loneliness and, unfortunately, many suicides have occurred from the anxiety felt because of the virus.  

I live alone, except I do have a cat for a companion.  For those of you who are alone during this lockdown (although in most areas many restrictions have been lifted..... but watch what happens later in the fall when the flu season is in full force). Hopefully we true believers will have been taken up to heaven by then, when Jesus returns for the rapture of the Church, His Bride. If you are feeling very alone, here is a song to uplift you and to keep your eyes and heart focused on the Lord:

Stay focused on the good Lord and those things above, and you will find strength from Him to endure.  Spend much time in prayer and also in reading your Bible.  This blog mentions over and over how important it is to develop a close, intimate, personal, and loving relationship with God through His Son, Jesus Christ, the Savior.  God wants to fellowship with us; He loves us and wants what is best for us.   And what is best for us is a strong faith in Him and a trust that never falters or doubts.  A living and vibrant faith that helps us to be strong.  

"I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me."   -   Philippians 4:13

"But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible."  -  Matthew 19:26

Following is a 35 minute audio sermon by Pastor Adrian Rogers who has since gone to be with the Lord.  It is a powerful sermon and I encourage you to listen to it.  The title of the sermon is "Learning to Stand Alone."

In the above sermon, Pastor Rogers tells us that, "Courage is fear that has said its prayers." and  "If you kneel before God, you will have courage and power to stand alone for Christ."  There is much more insightful and encouraging words in the above sermon.

"Quiet your mind and God will speak to your spirit."  -- unknown

[Hanauma Bay, Oahu, Hawaii]

Deuteronomy 10:12 tells us:  "And now, Israel, what doth the LORD thy God require of thee, but to fear the LORD thy God, to walk in all His ways, and to love Him, and to serve the LORD thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul,"

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment.  He that feareth is not made perfect in love."   -    1 John 4:18

"Moreover, brethren, I declare unto you the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye have received, and wherein ye stand.  By which also ye are saved, if ye keep in memory what I preached unto you, unless ye have believed in vain.  For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that He was  buried, and that He rose again the third day according to the scriptures."  -    1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Romans 10:9,10,13 says: (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."


Keep looking up!

Jesus will return soon for those who believe in Him as the Savior.

Are you rapture ready?


Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend ... and life !

We Are Almost Home! Prophecy And A Video From Amir Tsarfati

One of the most comforting and lovely promises in the Bible is found at John 14:1-3 in which Jesus assures us:

"Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me.  In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so I would have told you.  I go to prepare a place for you.  And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, ye may be also."

What a promise!  What a hope!  Jesus is preparing a place for us and will soon return to take true believers to be with Him forever!

It is said that without hope, a person will wither away and die.  There is nothing more debilitating than to feel utterly hopeless; to feel like there is nothing or no one to come to your rescue.

There is Someone who cares and Who will rescue you!  The good Lord loves you and wants to give you hope and a purpose.  

I feel like that is why God has over one third of the Bible full of prophecy of future events; to warn us, to prepare us, to save us, from the 7 year Tribulation period and the wrath that will be poured out then.....not to mention that the good Lord wants to save us as well from hell itself!

There is an insightful article found at raptureready.com about  how it is "impossible to understand God's plan and purpose for Israel apart from the study of biblical prophecy."   Remember, Israel is God's prophetic time clock;  Israel is still the chosen people of God.

As the author of this article states:  "God sovereignly purposed that the nation of Israel play a key role in the fulfillment of His purpose for humanity."   I pray that you will read the entire article and concentrate on the Scriptures therein.

Very recently an Iranian general said his armed forces are preparing for the destruction of Israel.   Think Ezekiel 38 and 39.... the war of Gog of Magog.  Ezekiel 38:18-23 tells how God will supernaturally intervene and crush Israel's enemies and save Israel from the nations that come against her.   I highly recommend that you read all of Ezekiel 38 and 39.

Amir Tsarfati, in the following 22 minute video, says that "We are watching world events that confirm everything we already know."  He also says, "The Bible is more accurate than today's newspaper."

If Ezekiel 38 and 39 are about to be fulfilled (The War of Gog and Magog) , think how close the Rapture of true believers to heaven must be.  

We are almost Home !

What do we do in the meantime?  

Occupy !

"And he called his ten servants, and delivered them ten pounds and said unto them, Occupy till I come."   -  Luke 19:13

We need to be busy not only with everyday affairs of life, but especially to be occupied in doing the Lord's will;  to preach the Gospel so that lost souls can gain salvation.  

We need to live a godly life so that that may be a witness to others of the power of Jesus and of salvation.  We need to forget self and spend time witnessing to lost souls of the world, telling them that Jesus is the way, the truth and the life and that no one comes to the Father but by Him.  (John 14:6)

Time is short !

Be alert!

Watch for the Lord's return!

"Jesus said unto her,  I am the resurrection, and the life:  he that believeth in Me, though he were dead, yet shall he live:  And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  Believest thou this?"    -   John 11:25-26

"Jesus answered and said unto him,  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."   -   John 3:3

"Deny Self And Follow Jesus" (Andrew Murray Video) - Inspirational Weekend

We live in a world of selfies, self-centeredness , selfishness, and people are generally only thinking of their own wants, desires, and interests.  Self-absorbed .  Plain and simple.  

This should never be true of Christians.   The word Christian is not used much by me, because so many people call themselves Christians when in reality they are worldly and carnal and not truly born again from above.   "Christ-followers" or "true believers" are better descriptions of those born again and who are endeavoring to live a holy life, one pleasing to the good Lord.  

"And He said to them all,  If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me."  -   Luke 9:23  

So we see from Luke that following Jesus requires self-denial.  We do this by obeying the Lord and being completely dedicated to Him, and following in His footsteps and renouncing all notions of vainglory and any form of pride.  We also do not get involved with the sinful pleasures and fleshly delights like the people of the world do.   

Put God first.

Put other people next  (helping them and sharing the Gospel).

And last of all, consider yourself.

Consider the example of Christ.   What a true demonstration of self-denial was His Passion and Death.  

"For even Christ pleased not Himself..... "  -  Romans 15:3 a 

One of the most convicting sermons I have ever heard was today on You Tube.   It was concerning the denial of self and it was a 25 minute reading of the written words of Andrew Murray.  Please listen and benefit from this video which is below:

In Luke 9:23 Jesus also told us to "take up our cross daily."  What exactly does that mean?  

It means "Dying to self" or in being willing to die in order to follow Jesus.  It means absolute surrender to the Lord. It may also mean being shunned or persecuted.  In some parts of the world today, true believers are being murdered because of their faith in Jesus.

Jesus told us at Luke 9:24,25 :  "For whosoever will save his life shall lose it: but whosoever will lose his life for my sake, the same shall save it.   For what is a man advantaged, if he gain the whole world, and lose himself, or be cast away?"

The last thing Jesus said in Luke 9:23 was to "follow Him."   When we are born again, we are transformed by the renewing of our minds (Romans 12:1,2), and we make a radical change in our lives by the help of the Holy Spirit.   We think on things above, and our main desire is to please the good Lord and to draw ever closer to Him.   By doing all this and by obeying Him and loving Him with all of our heart, mind, strength and soul  (Mark 12:30) -  by all of these things we are following Jesus.   We endeavor to imitate Christ as best we can in these ways.  

All this is possible when you read your Bible and get to know the Lord and His attributes.  His Word is like Him speaking to you and guiding you.    You also follow Jesus when you are often in prayer.  Jesus was perfect and sinless, yet He felt the need and the desire to pray to His Father frequently.  How much more should we imperfect mortals  pray without ceasing! (1 Thessalonians 5:17).

God wants to fellowship with you.  What He desires is a close, personal, intimate love relationship with you through Jesus Christ.  A person gets to know someone by communicating with him often.  We do that with the Lord by being on our knees in prayer often.

Here is a beautiful song by Jamie Cortez titled "Take Up Your Cross:"

To any unbelievers who are reading this, you need Jesus!  We are living in the end times..... the last "hour" of the end times.  We know this by many Bible prophecies converging right now all at once (or beginning to happen; precursors).   Israel is God's prophetic time clock.  Watch Middle East events closely.  One prophecy that could occur at any time now is the destruction of Damascus as foretold at Isaiah 17:1.   Another prophecy about to happen is Ezekiel 38 and 39  ..... the war of Gog and Magog.  Russia, Turkey, and Iran are all "friends" now and they and other nations will soon come against Israel, as prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39.

I say all of that to let you know the time is short.  Jesus will return soon at the Rapture of the Church, and only true believers will be taken to heaven to escape the horror and destruction to take place after the Rapture and during the 7 year Tribulation.  

Turn to Jesus before it is too late!

He will welcome you with love and forgiveness !

Sincerely repent and pray to the Lord for forgiveness.  You must believe that Jesus is the Savior, whose shed blood at Calvary can wash away your sins..... wipe the slate clean; if you have faith in Jesus and surrender all to Him.

Romans 10: 9, 10, 13 explains:  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10)  For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

("For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.)  -  2 Corinthians 6:2

"He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him."   -  John 3:36

"Jesus said unto her,  I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in Me, though he were dead,  yet shall he live.  And whosoever liveth and believeth in Me shall never die.  Believest thou this?"   -  John 11: 25,26

"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish,  but have everlasting life."   -  John 3:16

"Be Blessed" - Inspirational Weekend

"Praise ye the LORD.  Blessed is the man that feareth the LORD, that delighteth greatly in His commandments"  -  Psalm 112:1

To be blessed is the happy condition of those who revere the LORD and do His will. 

"Blessed are the undefiled in the way, who walk in the law of the LORD.  Blessed are they that keep His testimonies, and that seek Him with the whole heart."  -  Psalm 119:1-2

"Blessed is that man that maketh the LORD his trust....."   -   Psalm 40:4 a  

So from these verses we see that to be blessed is to trust the LORD, walk in His laws and keep His commandments; and to have a reverent and healthy fear of Him and to seek Him with the whole heart.  

The ultimate blessing is to have Jesus Christ as our Savior, by Whom we may gain eternal life.   But that takes faith and belief on our part.  Salvation is believing in Jesus as the Savior, repenting of all known sin, and praying to God for forgiveness; surrendering our life and will to the good Lord.

Romans 10:9,10,13 says it best:  (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.  (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

A blessing is a gift from God.   Our every breath is a gift from Him.  So is the fact that we have eyes to enjoy all the beauty of His creation, and to see the faces of our loved ones.   God is love, and He shows His love to us in many ways.  He blesses us with a roof over our heads and with food to sustain us.   But the subject of this post will dwell on the spiritual blessings from the good Lord.

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ:"  -   Ephesians 1:3

Treasure God's Holy Word and read it daily. The Bible is a gift from the Lord; His love letter to us and His Instruction Manual for us.  By studying the Bible you come to comprehend God's attributes and His character, and you begin to know Him more intimately, and you become full of love for Him and for Jesus.  Pray without ceasing (1 Thessalonians 5:17).  You need to communicate with the good Lord in order to know Him and to love Him with all of your heart.  You cannot truly know a Person unless there is communication between you and Him.  It takes much prayer to build a strong, intimate, love relationship with the Lord.  He communicates with you by His Holy Word, and through sermons and even by conversations with other believers.

As a true believer, one needs to watch his associations and not become chummy with hardened sinners.  Psalm 1:1-2 tells us:

(1) "Blessed is the man that walketh not in the counsel of the ungodly, nor standeth in the way of sinners, nor sitteth in the seat of the scornful.  (2)  But his delight is in the law of the LORD:  and in His law doth he meditate day and night."

The Psalms are full of expressions of blessings.  And do not forget the sermon on the mount by Jesus... the Beatitudes .   Read Matthew 5:1-12.  There is described the happiness to be found by those who find their purpose and fulfillment in God.

"Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God."  -  Matthew 5:8

"Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help, whose hope is in the LORD his God."  -  Psalm 146:5

To be blessed is to be happy.  Don't forget to bless others and spread the happiness around in a generous fashion.


"Jesus answered and said unto him,  Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God."    -  John 3:3


"For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life."  -  John 3:16

"Jesus saith unto him,  I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me."   -  John 14:6


Have a blessed and Christ-centered weekend...... and life !

Tommy Ice Video On The Gospel And Another Video Of 13 Reasons To Believe In The Pre-Tribulation Rapture - Inspirational Weekend

The above photograph of the Hawaiian Black-Crowned Night Heron I took on the island of  Kauai, Hawaii, near the beach.   Notice how alert he is and he seems to be surveying his surroundings with keen interest.    It reminds me that we, as Christians, need to be alert to the times we live in - meaning the last of the last days -  and watching for the  soon return of Jesus to take us home to heaven in the Rapture.   And not only to watch for it, but to be ready.  That means having a close personal relationship with God through His Son Jesus.   If you have such an intimate relationship, then you most likely are leading a godly life; a fruitful life.   

In my last post  I mentioned how sharing Bible prophecy was a wonderful evangelizing tool.   Yesterday, a video was posted to You-tube featuring Tommy Ice who talks about how vital the Gospel message is and in it he said that, along with the Gospel, Bible Prophecy is also excellent to use to evangelize.   He gave pertinent information about several things.   Following is that video :

Recently, I ran across an article by Tommy Ice concerning the Pre-Tribulation Rapture.  Many scholars believe that there was no evidence  (other than the Bible) of any kind about it before 1830,  but this article has a paragraph about the Pre-Trib Rapture being mentioned over a 1000 years before 1830 and which was dated somewhere between c. 374-627.  Please read the article found here .  It was fascinating to me, and to all of you who crave information about end time events, you will find it a good source.

Most Christians believe in the Pre-Tribulation Rapture, myself included.   However, many believe that the Rapture will occur at the mid-way point of the Tribulation, and still others believe the Rapture happens at the end of the Tribulation period.   It is the Pre-Trib belief that gets the most attacks and is most hated.  To me, that just helps to prove that it is the accurate view.   The devil always attacks the fiercest at what is the truth.

If you know the Rapture of the church is near, you will live a more godly life and will be in more of a state of readiness for Jesus' return.  The main thing is to seek first God's kingdom  (Matthew 6:33).  Put God and Jesus first in your life.

I John 3:3 states,  "And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as He is pure."

Following is a video which gives 13 reasons to believe the Rapture will occur before the Tribulation.

Both of the above videos are excellent "spiritual food" and I hope you take the time to view them; they are short but full of much needed information.  If you are not sure of your standing with God, now is the time to pray and ask for forgiveness in sincere repentance.  Pray for Jesus to come into your life; believe His shed blood at Calvary washes away your sins; surrender all to Him and make Him the Lord of your life.   Believers today are sealed by the Holy Spirit.

"In Whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in Whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise."
- Ephesians 1:13

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption."
- Ephesians 4:30

This seal guarantees our salvation.   It also means that, as believers, we have eternal life.  What an awesome gift!  We ought to be singing praises to God all day long for His great love and mercy !  And it should give us a humble and grateful heart.

"And when these things begin to come to pass, then look up, and lift up your heads; for your redemption draweth nigh."   -   Jesus speaking at Luke 21:28 concerning the signs of the last days.

"Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as you think not the Son of man cometh."  - Jesus at Matthew 24:44.