Argument Answer

Try this line on your favorite atheist:

"God doesn't need your permission to exist."

It's true and there's no way to refute it.

May God bless us all.

Kathi Linz

Communion and Betrothal

I stumbled upon a minister in Hawaii who is a Christian of Egyptian descent. He ties the events in the Middle East with Bible prophecy.  I find his insights to be fascinating, but this particular broadcast had something extra special.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sXeA61BCikc

Pastor Farag (at 55 minutes into the video) talks about the Lord's Supper from the viewpoint of the Middle Eastern perspective. Since that IS where Jesus was from, it's a viewpoint worth exploring.

In the Middle East with the arid places it contains, if you give someone bread and water, you have saved their life. They, in return, owe you their life and express that through loyalty until death.

If we look at communion in that light, God gives us bread and wine and saves our lives. Therefore, we express our thanks by devotion to Him for the rest of our lives.

Another comparison has to do with a betrothal ceremony. The Father chooses the bride. The Bridegroom accepts the choice. A ceremony is performed during which the groom breaks bread and offers it to his intended. If the bride is willing, she accepts the bread and eats it. Then they drink from the same cup of wine - a sort of pre-wedding "I do".

The next time you take communion, consider all of the layers of meaning that are represented there. Forgiveness, remembrance, loyalty, and acceptance of the proposal.

Our next meal with Him will be in person at the wedding supper of the Lamb.

I'm excited!

May God bless us all.

Kathi Linz

Happy Feast of Trumpets

May a good year be inscribed for you in the Book of Life.

God bless us all,

Kathi Linz

Syria Under Fire

I find the news headlines absolutely fascinating lately as I have studied Bible prophecy for many years.

In light of Obama saying he wants to take military action against Syria, check this one out:

A prophecy against Damascus: "See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins." Isaiah 17:1

Syria says if we attack them, they will retaliate and the first to be hit would be Israel. These people do not threaten without a complete intent to follow up on their word.
Assuming they do hit Israel, God has something in mind for them and all who ally themselves together against Israel:

1A day of the Lord is coming, Jerusalem, when your possessions will be plundered and divided up within your very walls.

2I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to fight against it; the city will be captured, the houses ransacked, and the women raped. Half of the city will go into exile, but the rest of the people will not be taken from the city. 3Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations, as he fights on a day of battle. 4On that day his feet will stand on the Mount of Olives, east of Jerusalem, and the Mount of Olives will be split in two from east to west, forming a great valley, with half of the mountain moving north and half moving south. 5You will flee by my mountain valley, for it will extend to Azel. You will flee as you fled from the earthquake^a in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him.  Zechariah 14

 

The scene of war is described even more graphically in Ezekiel 38.

 

I have to wonder how soon Jesus will come back for those who love Him. It has to be during a time of peace, because Jesus said:

 

26“Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the day Noah entered the ark. Then the flood came and destroyed them all. Luke 17

 

People are eating and drinking and carrying on with life as if everything were normal.

 

The Feast of Trumpets - the only unfulfilled Jewish holiday - is on September 5 this year. Congress is reconvening on September 9th to consider taking action against Syria. Obama says he may act with or without Congressional approval.

 

All the pieces are in place. I have to wonder whether the table is being set even now for the wedding supper of the Lamb.

 

Hallelujah!!

 

God bless us all,

 

Kathi Linz

Headline News

Today I looked at the headlines and saw several Bible prophecies splashed across the page.  No, it's likely that the writers of the headlines  are completely oblivious to the significance  of their words. But that makes them no less significant.

Syria uses chemical weapons against its own citizens, making Obama consider plans in light of national security. As Commander in Chief, he doesn't need approval from anyone to retaliate or make a pre-emptive strike. (God help us all!)

Syria and Russia say that if we get involved, the consequences will be serious. Syria goes on to add that their first target is Israel.  These people, unlike the United States, make threats AND KEEP THEM!

In Amos 9:15, God says: I will plant Israel in their own land, never again to be uprooted from the land I have given them," says the LORD your God.

Syria cannot win against Israel because God will fight for them. Is 17:1 goes on to state: A prophecy against Damascus: "See, Damascus will no longer be a city but will become a heap of ruins.

The generation that saw the gathering together of the Jews in Palestine and the birth of the nation of Israel is rapidly drawing to a close. We could have another 20-25 years before the last of "us" go (I fall just 3 years short of that group of people.), but there is nothing that stands between this minute and the gathering together of Jesus' people before the world descends into the chaos of the Antichrist's reign.

I found this prophecy teacher, J.D. Farag, only a couple of weeks ago. He doesn't scream. He doesn't preach on an emotional level as some of these teachers are wont to do. He explains with Scripture how he sees the state of the world in light of what God said would happen.

If you are interested in Bible prophecy, and the headlines are making you wonder - look up for your redemption draws near.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sZoz5UufGMA

God bless us all,

Kathi Linz
 

Feast of Trumpets 2013

As I've mentioned before, I always pay a little more attention as the Feast of Trumpets approaches.

 "For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first." 1 Thessalonians 4:16

This year, the feast is on September 5th.

Just saying.

God bless us all,

Kathi Linz

Blood Moons in 2014 and 2015

There are four blood moons coming up on Jewish holidays in the next two years: 2014 and 2015 Passovers and Yom Kippurs.

This type of celestial event has only happened (I think) three or four times in history. Once it had to do with Columbus discovering America - a known haven for Jews - at about the same time that the Jews were kicked out of Spain and at the time of the Inquisition.

Another time was the end of the Holocaust and the start of the state of Israel.

The third time was around the 1967 Six-Days' War. 

I don't completely understand the exact dates of the blood moons and the corresponding events listed above. I do know that lunar eclipses are considered to be a sign for Israel, that something always happens to, against, or for the Jews during these major signs.

I am curious to see what will happen this time around. I expect something big will happen soon.

Please feel free to check this out for yourself. I do not claim to be any kind of expert, just a gatherer of both facts and curiosities. Be ready. Stuff is happening.

God bless us all,

Kathi Linz

Names Changed to Protect the Guilty

A lady I love has been having issues with an outspoken difficult person. She emailed me her difficulties and I was inspired to give her this answer:

"The boys in the following story are grown, married, and have families now, so this happened sometime back and far away.

I knew someone just like the one you wrote me about. His name is Kurt. He had a horrible childhood and grew up tough. His wife is a sweet woman with the patience of a saint. She and I taught together in the same school. Her three boys each had a different learning difficulty and Kurt kept bringing street people in to live in their house while they straightened out their lives (usually one at a time). Kurt fixed most of them through his love for Jesus and his understanding of their situation in life. Seriously, I would not have put up with what Gina did.

But Kurt was just plain rude to me. I'm guessing he was rude to most people (except his family). Sometimes he said things to me that made me go home and weep. Then he started going to the church I was attending and there was no place to hide.

One Sunday morning, my sister and I walked into the church and there was Kurt. I said to him, "Hi, Kurt. How are you doing today?"

He answered, "Much better before I saw you."

Everyone in the room gasped at the same time and turned to look at me for my reaction. The pastor's wife, who is gentle and soft-spoken, asked me, "Are you going to let him get away with that?"

God gave me the grace to shrug and say, "It's only Kurt."

Everyone in the room visibly relaxed and Kurt was not ostracized, which he would have been if I had given a harsh word. The men in the church took to calling him "Kurt-eous", calling into being that which was not. lol

 

He did change some. Kurt will never have all of his rough edges smoothed off, but I don't think it would be good if he did. Who would reach the hurt people that he can touch? I don't have the make-up to do it, so I need to leave room in my heart and God's kingdom for the difficult people who love Jesus.

 

You must have a "Kurt" in your life somewhere and you love them anyway. Think of them when you think of your difficult person - and don't hang out in that place if he bothers you so much. Let him talk to people who are more like him.  He can do some good for those people."

 

Just thought I would share that and let you ponder what to do about the Kurts in your life.

 

God bless us all,

 

Kathi Linz

 

Jesus' Return

I will not guess as to the exact date when Jesus will come back. I will simply say that there are no more prophecies that have to be fulfilled before He could come back for His people.

See you in heaven,

Kathi Linz

Evening Devotions

When I was young, my mother would read us simply-told Bible stories from a yellow book called A Child's Garden of Bible Stories by Arthur W. Gross. I loved the illustrations and could eventually come near to quoting the stories word-for-word.

When we got a little older, Mother graduated us to the more advanced Egermeier's Bible Story Book by Elsie E. Egermeier.

By the time I was in 8th grade, I was well-versed in Bible stories. My teacher gave us a 100 question Bible test. I got 99 questions correct. The only one I didn't get was a verse he quoted and asked which book of the Bible the verse came from. I said it was in one of the Timothy's and it was from the other Timothy. Heartbreaking! I have always called that a technical A+.

Once we were teens and older, both of my parents would have us gather for Bible reading. We read through a number of books of the Bible - sometimes with more than one version going at the same time. John liked his KJV, Daddy usually read out of the NIV, and I would try to follow along in the Living Bible. If we were reading an epistle, Daddy would always have me read the last line "Sincerely, Paul" or "Farewell, Paul". We'd take turns closing with prayer.

When we were babies, we had a couple of memorized prayers. One was the Lord's Prayer and one was a simple children's bedtime prayer.

Now I lay me down to sleep.
I pray the Lord my soul to keep.
If I should die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.
And this I ask for Jesus' sake. Amen.

Mother decided that having us go to sleep thinking about dying was maybe not the best thought to leave in our minds. So she added two lines:

If I should live for other days,
I pray Thee, Lord, to guide my ways.

Those lines went right before "And this I ask..."

The Bible says "Train up a child in the way he should go,
And when he is old he will not depart from it." Proverbs 22:6

My parents took that verse literally and they had a lot less grief from us than many other parents had with their children. I, for one, am grateful that, although I made plenty of bad choices, I was taught enough to keep me from making some of the disastrous choices I might otherwise have made.

May God bless us all,

Kathi Linz

A Non-Easter

I went to sunrise service on Easter this year. It was different.

Growing up in the Lutheran church, I was used to getting my Hallelujahs back after a lo-o-ong Lenten season. Lent was dreary without those uplifting songs and I couldn't wait for Easter.

This year (and the last two, I think), Pastor has been using the Resurrection series by City on a Hill Productions. They look at the crucifixion from various viewpoints like the centurion. This year we saw it from Mary the mother of Jesus' viewpoint. What was lacking was the joy she would have had when Jesus showed up afterwards. How can you tell Jesus' story without the Resurrection? How can you leave out the joy? How can you call it the Resurrection series without the resurrection?

I was more unhappy after the service than I was when I went into church. I went for a long walk to think about why I was so empty on Easter. It dawned on me that I had never gotten my hallelujahs back after the Lenten season.

I think next year, I might join the Lutherans for sunrise service. I've often said that no one parties like a Jew(weddings and bar mitzahs are huge blow-out affairs) and that's why we're going to have so much fun in heaven. But no one greets Easter with more gusto than a Lutheran. Next year, I think I'll join them.

Hallelujah! He is risen!

Ron DiCianni's painting says it all. Here is the victory!

Thanks for visiting with me.

Kathi

The United States and Virtue

Here are the thoughts shared with us by some of our founding fathers. Just a little something to ponder about liberty and our country's future.

"Human rights can only be assured among a virtuous people. The general government . .  can never be in danger of degenerating into a monarchy, an oligarchy, an aristocracy, or any despotic or oppresive form so long as there is any virtue in the body of the people."
George Washington

"Only a virtuous people are capable of freedom. As nations become more corrupt and vicious, they have more need of masters."
Benjamin Franklin

"Laws without morals are in vain."
Benjamin Franklin (Motto of the University of Pennsylvania)

"It is in the manners and spirit of a people which preserve a republic in vigour. . . . degeneracy in these is a canker which soon eats into the heart of its laws and constitution."
Thomas Jefferson

"When virtue is banished, ambition invades the minds of those who are disposed to receive it, and avarice possesses the whole community."
Montesquieu (written by Thomas Jefferson in his Common Place Book).

"To suppose that any form of government will secure liberty or happiness without any virtue in the people, is a chimerical idea."
James Madison

". . . Virtue, morality, and religion. This is the armor, my friend, and this alone that renders us invincible. These are the tactics we should study. If we lose these, we are conquered, fallen indeed . . . so long as our manners and principles remain sound, there is no danger."
Patrick Henry

"Bad men cannot make good citizens. It is when a people forget God that tyrants forge their chains. A vitiated state of morals, a corrupted public conscience, is incompatible with freedom. No free government, or the blessings of liberty, can be preserved to any people but by a firm adherence to justice, moderation, temperance, frugality, and virtue; and by a frequent recurrence to fundamental principles."
Patrick Henry

"The only foundation of a free Constitution, is pure Virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our People, in a great Measure, than they have it now. They may change their Rulers, and the forms of Government, but they will not obtain a lasting Liberty.
John Adams

"We have no government armed with power capable of contending with human passions unbridled by morality and religion. Avarice, ambition, revenge, or gallantry would break the strongest cords of our constitution as a whale goes through a net."
John Adams

"Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other."
John Adams

"Liberty can no more exist without virtue and independence than the body can live and move without a soul."
John Adams

"Public virtue cannot exist in a nation without private, and public virtue is the only foundation of republics."
John Adams

"[I]t is religion and morality alone which can establish the principles upon which freedom can securely stand. The only foundation of a free constitution is pure virtue."
John Adams

God help us all,

 

Kathi Linz

The End of the World

In the last five months, the world has NOT ended three times.

Jesus did not come back on the Feast of Trumpets last September.  The Mayans hadn't actually predicted the collapse of civilization. And 2012 Asteroid DA-14 did not cause an extinction level event.

I found myself watching each approaching time and holding my breath in a way, wondering how it would play out.  I was pretty sure we were wrong about the Mayan calendar for a very Biblical reason. But I wasn't sure about the other two events.

Jesus said, "...The son of man will come at an hour you do not expect him." Luke 12:40

I wasn't wrong to be looking for Him to come back.  The beginning of that verse says, "You also must be ready..."  I was ready.  I was eager.

But, looking back, I managed to tie myself up in knots thinking about what I still needed to do before the end.  I made myself anxious for nothing. I admit that I'm an expert at doing that. It causes me grief - and all for nothing.

Jesus says we won't be especially aware of the time when He will come. I ought to make that part of my daily understanding and do whatever I know or believe I should do for those around me and to spread God's glory. Then I won't have to wonder if I've done what I was supposed to do when He does show up.

God bless us all,

Kathi Linz

Judgment of Abandonment

I recently ran across a teaching about Romans 1.  On a quick reading of the passage, one would think that God punishes homosexuality or a society that condones homosexuality.  But look again. That isn't the thing that brings about judgment.

¹⁸ The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness, ¹⁹ since what may be known about God is plain to them, because God has made it plain to them. ²⁰ For since the creation of the world God’s invisible qualities—his eternal power and divine nature—have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that people are without excuse.  Rom 1:18-20  NIV

God's wrath is incited when people ignore Him as being the Creator.  At that point, God turns them over to their own desires - none of which are righteous. 

²¹ For although they knew God, they neither glorified him as God nor gave thanks to him, but their thinking became futile and their foolish hearts were darkened. ²² Although they claimed to be wise, they became fools ²³ and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images made to look like a mortal human being and birds and animals and reptiles.
²⁴ Therefore God gave them over in the sinful desires of their hearts to sexual impurity for the degrading of their bodies with one another. ²⁵ They exchanged the truth about God for a lie, and worshiped and served created things rather than the Creator—who is forever praised. Amen.  Romans 1: 21-25 NIV


God "gave them over".  He left them alone to fall into the ditches they themselves have dug.  God abandons the nation that abandons Him.

Ladies and gentlemen, haven't we arrived at this point?  Do you see the judgment of God in the leadership of our country?  In our slavery to debt?

Our founders set up a nation under God with freedoms built in for a people who were dedicated to faith  - or at least morality.  We used to know right from wrong.  We sent out missionaries as a national passion. 

Then evolution crept in and undermined our thinking about God.  It was swiftly followed by secular humanism.  Humanism was not properly declared to be a religion by the Supreme Court, but at least one justice added it into his notes in this case:

"In the 1961 case of Torcaso v. Watkins, Justice Hugo Black wrote in a footnote that:

Among religions in this country which do not teach what would generally be considered a belief in the existence of God is Buddhism, Taoism, Ethical Culture, Secular Humanism, and others.

As a footnote, this statement qualifies as an obiter dictum — this means that it is simply a personal observation of the judge and hence is only incidental to reaching the opinion. It has no real weight when it comes to legal precedent and cannot be properly considered the "decision" of the court. "
http://atheism.about.com/od/churchstatemyths/a/SecularHumanismReligion.htm

The more our country figures out ways to eject God from our society, the more we as a nation will come under judgment.  If falling prey to our own sinful natures (children having children, children killing children, "bread and circuses" mentality, etc.) doesn't make us draw back to God, then the judgments to come will be worse.

It's worth thinking about.

Kathi Linz

King Herod and the Wise Men

Matthew chapter 2 tells us about the star that led to wise men to Jesus and about King Herod's reaction to the news.

Consider this:
1. The star had to have been a divine message.
2. The wise men asked for the newborn KING.
3. Herod asked for information about the MESSIAH.

Taking those three points together, Herod knew about the Messiah - that He would be sent from God.

Now Herod was no stranger to "messiahs" in general.  There were a couple of them in his own lifetime, messiahs who were trying to rebel against the Romans.  Take the words of Gamaliel during the trial of the apostles immediately after Jesus rose into heaven.

Acts 5:35-39 (ESV) And [Gamaliel] said to them, “Men of Israel, take care what you are about to do with these men. For before these days Theudas rose up, claiming to be somebody, and a number of men, about four hundred, joined him. He was killed, and all who followed him were dispersed and came to nothing. After him Judas the Galilean rose up in the days of the census and drew away some of the people after him. He too perished, and all who followed him were scattered. So in the present case I tell you, keep away from these men and let them alone, for if this plan or this undertaking is of man, it will fail; but if it is of God, you will not be able to overthrow them. You might even be found opposing God!”

According to Gamaliel, Herod was dealing with a 'messiah' at the exact time that the wise men showed up asking about another one.  Maybe Herod was simply fed up with all of the local heroic types and he just wanted to nip this one in the bud.  But no other claimant had been heralded by a celestial sign and seekers from far countries. 

They came looking for a king, but Herod knew enough to ask where the Messiah would be born.  Herod didn't ask the news reporters and spies with which he had certainly surrounded himself.  He asked the scholars of Scripture.  Herod understood that this particular Messiah was the real thing.

And his first plan was to kill Him!

If Herod understood enough about the Scriptures to know about the true Messiah, I wonder if he understood the mission of Jesus.  Maybe not.  It seems like most of those well-versed in God's Word missed Jesus' first coming.  They too were looking for a King.

It's a wonderful thing that God knows how to protect His own and that His plans cannot be thwarted.  Otherwise, Jesus would not have seen His third birthday, and we would all be destined for hell. 

God bless us all.

Happy New Year.

Kathi Linz