Acts 2:17 (ESV) In the last days it shall be, God declares, that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh, & your sons & your daughters shall prophesy, & your young men shall see visions, & your old men shall dream dreams. Matt 2:13 Now when they had departed, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream & said, “Rise, take the child & his mother, & flee to Egypt, & remain there until I tell you, for Herod is about to search for the child, to destroy him. Acts 16:9 A vision appeared to Paul in the night: a man of Macedonia was standing there, urging him & saying, “Come over to Macedonia & help us. Dan 2:19 Then the mystery was revealed to Daniel in a vision of the night. — Dreams are a way God speaks to His people! There are 21 examples in the Bible! Most of them are a warning of some kind! Joseph the father of Jesus saved him by obeying the warning! There will come a time when God uses dreams to warn his people, & we must be like Joseph, obey! If you are interested, you might study the dreams given in scripture! Love Mel
God Saves Us Because He Loves Us, Not Because of Anything We Have Done
Titus 3:4-6 (ESV) When the goodness & loving kindness of God our Savior appeared,
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration & renewal of the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior. — God has saved us thru His son Jesus! Hence the time of the season to celebrate our Savior! May you all be BLESSED! Love Mel
Repent and Be Converted and Joy Will Come
Acts 3:19 (KJV) Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; Psalm 16:11 Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore. Psalm 36:7 How excellent is thy lovingkindness, O God! therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings. — Have you ever felt stressed? We serve a God who refreshes us & provides a path full of joy! All we need to do is put our trust in Him! Love Mel
Use Your Gifts to Serve One Another
1 Peter 4:10-11 (ESV) As good stewards of the manifold grace of God, each of you should use whatever gift he has received to serve one another. Whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen — The key here is, no matter what we say or do with regard to God, we are to be mere vessels, allowing Him to flow thru us & giving Him ALL the glory! When we become like open faucets for God, Giving Him total control, we will see Him like never before! Love Mel
So, What About Revival and the End Times
Borrowing some wisdom from Mario Murillo’s book “Vessels of Fire and Glory” we see an incredible need – especially after the election – for a revival in our country. Many in the pews did not vote for the candidate that stood against abortion and supported Israel, law and order, and religious freedoms. It appears that the American church has taken a nap.
Murillo basically asserts that this is in part because many of the churches have adopted a watered-down version of the gospel from pulpits in order to gain and maintain membership. As a result, many professing Christians do not feel strongly about the biblical positions on these issues.
Another factor adding to the malaise in some churches is the notion of the end times. Some churches take the “therapeutic approach” that everything is going to be alright. We are not in a spiritual war, lets just use the power of God to make our lives more pleasant. Another approach is the “doom and gloom” approach which says we cannot win the spiritual war – might as well hang it up.
In sum, Murillo asserts that both terrible evil and tremendous blessing will come from the end time scenario as laid out in the prophets and the Revelation. There will be disasters, favor and protection.
The message in this post from me is that the fields are ripe for a good spiritual fight. Its time to war for the souls of men and women inside and outside of the church. Preachers should unashamedly preach the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the enormous importance of righteousness and holiness.
We know that we are clothed in Christs righteousness and are justified before God because of what HE did. We also know we are holy, even though we still make mistakes. But we are called, insofar as we are able, to live a sanctified, set apart life of power and truth telling.
If this is not our inclination, we need to reassess our standing before God.
