Tuesday, January 12, 2016

The Night the Power Dropped- are you Prepared?

Last night I had just sat up on the side of the bed and felt like I was going to throw up when the room went dark- no warning! And plunged into black so dark a person can't see one's hand in front of one's face!
My husband had been talking about the news that's circulating in my country that iISIS is plotting a major attack on the antiquated power grid system in my nation.
Several months ago "vandals" - never identified- disabled a major telephone feed and all communication exception being the old dial phone was dead for more than 6 hours. Even the 911 system didn't work and a person had to have the old emergency number to call assuming one had an old dial phone. We have the phone but not the number.
Everyone knows that this was some kind of terrorism that was quickly sanitized as a prank from some person . 
This was a great time to reflect as there couldn't be interruptions by phone or Internet as our internet is DSL based.
So back to last night 😊. There was a lot to think about then also.
I was thankful that Ward was with me and I had my flashlight on the bed next to me and grabbed it - also my tracfone worked and I had signed up for the emergency alert program.
Daniel was about a mile away teaching the story of the earthquake that hit Phillipi while Paul and Silas having been beaten and jailed for upsetting the profitability of a demon possessed girl - set free in the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ- these two followers of Christ Jesus were singing praises of Jesus the savior and true God (the Word made flesh) and encouraging the other prisoners -
So I used my phone to text Daniel- power is out- how about you? His power was on - I asked for the number to call to report the outage to the power company and Daniel gave me the website for APS. My husband has the router on a battery backup so I had internet for nearly an hour. I wrote down the number and my husband goes to call and to look for more flashlights.
We learned that about 1000 homes were in the dark and a line was down and travel restrictions on one of the roads between where Daniel is and our house.
I'm very thin and my feet had been cold all day.
I'm adjusting my attitude toward "what can I glean from this experience other than I should be more like Paul and Silas?"
I remembered Daniel's Bible study of Psalm 2 last Saturday and I got excited! 
How so?
Psalm 2 is written by David 1000 years before the birth of Jesus and talks about the type of things happening in the world that we have now-
The raging of the nations against the begotten Son of the Lord .
Daniel brought in passages from the book of Acts of the apostles and the Revelation written by the apostle John at the end of his life while a prisoner of Christ Jesus by order of the Roman government banished to Patmos since no one could stop John's testimony that Jesus is the one savior from sin and the mediator between Holy God and sinful man. Not the emperor of Rome who had declared himself to be god.
The Revelation speaks of the fulfillment of Psalm 2.
In Acts 4 Peter and John are arrested for saying that the man who was healed (by faith in the name of Jesus Christ) from lameness and dancing around in the temple and Peter is saying that there's no other way to be saved (Acts 4:12)- Peter quotes from Psalm 2- 
Let's look at what is so exciting to me ! 
Here is the beauty of studying the Bible for what it is - One Message- 
Please take time to read Psalm 2, Acts 4 and Revelation 2 the church of Thyatira, verses 24-27.
Revelation 2:24-27 But to the rest of you in Thyatira, who do not hold this teaching, who have not learned what some call the deep things of Satan, to you I say, I do not lay on you any other burden. Only hold fast what you have until I come. The one who conquers and who keeps my works until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron, as when earthen pots are broken in pieces, even as I myself have received authority from my Father." 
Do you see any of the same words or phrases?  Note who is doing the speaking . Note especially about the nations and what is going to happen with the nations who refuse the rule of the begotten Son. In Acts 4, the Holy Spirit through Peter clearly identified the son of Psalm 2 as Jesus Christ.
Also in the Revelation notice chapter 19. The return of Jesus Christ is as follows :
Revelation 19:6-8, 11-16 Then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the roar of many waters and like the sound of mighty peals of thunder, crying out,“Hallelujah!For the Lord our Godthe Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exult and give him the glory,for the marriage of the Lamb has come,and his Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to clothe herself with fine linen, bright and pure”—for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints. Then I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse! The one sitting on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he judges and makes war. His eyes are like a flame of fire, and on his head are many diadems, and he has a name written that no one knows but himself. He is clothed in a robe dipped in blood, and the name by which he is called is The Word of God. And the armies of heaven, arrayed in fine linen, white and pure, were following him on white horses. From his mouth comes a sharp sword with which to strike down the nations, and he will rule them with a rod of iron. He will tread the winepress of the fury of the wrath of God the Almighty. On his robe and on his thigh he has a name written, King of kings and Lord of lords. "
Ok here is how I am putting this together. God the Father reveals to King David about a coming King - begotten by Gpd and called the Son , anointed One, who will rule all the nations (including the nations who think they're going to have their own way about Who is God's appointed King).
This King will receive all the nations as His inheritance from the Father. 
God warns that if a person wants receive the penalty of rejecting the rule of this new King, they will perish ( go to the lake of fire for eternal torment and punishment).
Go now to 1000 years later and Peter is speaking to the Jewish religious leaders some of whom don't believe in the resurrection of the dead. 
A great miracle had just occurred and a man who had never walked in over 40 years was cavorting around like a new born calf- and after a night in jail, Peter and John were giving testimony that the miraculous healing was from the power of the name of the Jesus that had been crucified at the insistence of the Jewish religious leaders - AND this Jesus is none other than the One unique, one of a kind Son this Jesus of Nazareth, the King of Psalm 2. 
This must have infuriated the religious leaders who noticed that the disciples were uneducated men ( not schooled in the rabbinical schools) and had "been with Jesus ". 
They ordered them to stop doing anything in the name of Jesus.
The believers heard the story after the two disciples were sternly warned to stop teaching about the King.
Instead of cowering in fear they rejoiced and prayed for greater boldness to continue speaking the Word of God.
Read the rest of the story in Acts 4 and think about the part in Revelation 2 and 19.
The believers who are alive between now and the return of King Jesus have a great work to do! Keep proclaiming this Jesus of the Bible !
In our day of "tolerance " and syncretic religious groups, it's not a popular thing to affirm what Peter said : NO OTHER NAME by which men must be saved-Acts 4:12.
Ask yourself: what Jesus do you follow ? How do you proclaim His message ? The return of Jesus will occur just like the lights going off - no warning- Revelation 19 says that the Bride of Christ is getting prepared by the righteous deeds of the saints , clothed in pure linen and ready to rule and reign with Christ.
Are we nearly at the time to see Faithful and True ride in with the armies of heaven and remove those who have arrogantly thought they are taking over the world? Will the ISIS conquer in the name of their God ? 
Or will the Son of psalm 2 - the one who is coming to Zion to rule all the nations- on his way back to judge the world? 
Warn them of the coming judgment! Be faithful until death to testify before anyone who is this Jesus you are following! 

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