Tag: Jesus

Are You Sure You’re Going to Heaven?

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Do you ever wonder if you will make it to Heaven? Do you consider your entrance into Heaven something of which you cannot be ultimately sure until you die? If so, then you need to understand that God has given us a deposit to guarantee our admission to God’s home.

Unlike a physical ticket or admission pass, God’s people receive an unbelievable gift as their guarantee for Heaven. The gift is a Person – the third Person of the Triune God, the Holy Spirit. He is the proof positive that we have access to Heaven upon our exit of this world.

We read the glorious words of 2 Corinthians 5:4-5 in the New Living Translation, “While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh, but it’s not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this, and as a guarantee he has given us his Holy Spirit.”

Do you see that my insurance on a new, heavenly, undying, and sinless body is the Holy Spirit living in me? How much more proof could I possibly need, but to have God living in me moment by moment? Despite the struggles and strains of life, in my heart abides the Spirit of God, and He gives me a peace that goes past the turmoil and sadness of this life. He witnesses to my spirit that I do, in fact, belong to God and to Heaven.

Again, we read of the coming day of redemption, the time when we are fully redeemed (bought back) from brokenness and this old world. Listen to Ephesians 4:30 in the English Standard Version: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”

The Holy Spirit actually provides the seal that declares that my entrance to Heaven is as good as done! For what more could I ask?

This Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ. Jesus sent His own Spirit to live in His followers when He exited the world and ascended to Heaven. That precious Spirit is the guarantee that we also will exit this world and go to Heaven. Jesus paid for my salvation, and His Spirit witnesses to my salvation. Jesus is the way to Heaven, and His Spirit is the deposit I hold for that day. Until I am able to see Jesus, I have Him living in me by His Spirit.

– Shelli Prindle

What Is the Mysterious Generation of Matthew 24? – March 23, 2023

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Debate abounds regarding Matthew 24:34. Is this generation those who were alive in Jesus’ day? Is it the Jewish race in general? Is it those who will be alive at the time of Jesus’ return? Much of how we interpret the entire chapter of Matthew 24 hinges on the understanding of verse 34.

What I would like to do is step back from commonly cited arguments for a moment, and instead focus on the plain flow of thought of Jesus in the immediate context of the narrative. Let us read Matthew 24:32-37.

“(32) Now learn the parable from the fig tree: when its branch has already become tender and puts forth its leaves, you know that summer is near; (33) so, you too, when you see all these things, recognize that He is near, right at the door. (34) Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. (35) Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away. (36) But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone. (37) For the coming of the Son of Man will be just like the days of Noah.”

Notice first, that verses 32-33 regard seasons. Jesus beckons us to the simple truth that we are able to discern the coming of summer, because of the coming of spring. In general, we know that the season of springtime weather and plant growth points to the general time of summer. We mark the exact day on the calendar that a season changes, but we know that the weather and growth patterns do not follow a hard and fast rule. It can snow in spring. It can get be cold in summer. Flowers may pop out of the ground earlier than the calendar dictates because seasons are broad phases of time.

Jesus is first telling his disciples to discern seasons. He is beckoning them to look upon the events and foreshadowing of events of which He has spoken just previously – wars, earthquakes, famines, false teachers, antichrist influences, lawlessness, etc. These, the Lord says, are the beginnings of the birth pains (verse eight). These general occurrences will happen more frequently and more intensely as the season of Christ’s return draws nearer.

However, the Lord continues in the chapter to speak with specificity about the Abomination of Desolation that will come during the Great Tribulation (verses 15-21). Jesus warns His followers that the temple in Jerusalem that is to be rebuilt toward the end of days will be invaded by the Antichrist, as he ruthlessly pursues the Jews and all who refuse to worship him. Jesus reminds his disciples that those who live during this time are to run for the mountains to experience God’s divine protection. Then, the crescendo of events leads to the glorious second coming of the Lord, accompanied by signs in the heavens (verses 29-31).

On the heels of all this narrative, Jesus speaks of the season of His return (verses 32-33), before moving quickly to the day and hour of His return (verses 36-41). There is a great difference between a season and an hour. Seasons are broad, sweeping periods of time, while a day and hour are rather specific and narrow.

In between the season and the day/hour, Jesus declares, “Truly I say to you, this generation will not pass away until all these things take place. Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away.” (Matthew 24:34-35) Notice how he uses the phrase “pass away” three times in these two verses. The emphasis is that: 1) this generation will not pass away until every detail of what Jesus has foretold happens; 2) heaven and earth will surely pass away; and 3) God’s Word will never pass away.

Do you recognize the flow of thought with Jesus mentioning “passing away” three times? He says, in effect, that there is a day that “this generation” will pass away, but it is not until every single Word that God has spoken about the end times comes true. He proclaims, in neat alignment with this thought, that heaven and earth will also pass away. The contrast is about what will not pass away – the Word of God.

In other words, Jesus is wanting us to know that not only will the world as we know it one day be gone, but “this generation” as we know it will also be gone. We must rely solely on the Word of the Lord. We are very apt to rely on things that we should not. We assume society will go on and on. We assume the universe will go on and on. The Lord makes clear that society as we know it – and the world as we know it – have an appointment of judgment with God Almighty. In the meantime, every single detail that the Lord has specified about the end times will come true. All of the book of Revelation will be fulfilled. All of the details in the prophetic parts of the book of Daniel will come true. All the events of Matthew 24 will take place. Every word of God as presented in the canon of Scripture will happen, and – after all of the events of the tribulation have concluded – then the ungodly social order that we have all lived under for so long, will be terminated. After the people are judged, then the created order itself will be judged and remade.

In fact, this is what we find in Revelation chapters 20-22. The Great White Throne Judgment is the final demise of all who have rejected Jesus and His righteous kingdom, followed by the making of a New Heaven and New Earth. I see the same flow of thought in Jesus’ words of Matthew 24:34-35. The current, godless age (this generation) will pass away first – after every Word of God is fulfilled concerning end times – then, the old heavens and earth will pass away.

The word for “generation” in the Matthew 24 text, is the same Greek word used in Mark 8:38, where Jesus declares, “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will also be ashamed of him when He comes in the glory of His Father with the holy angels.” We see here the word “generation” used to contrast the current, evil age to the time of the return of Jesus Christ. This is precisely what we see in Matthew 24! The Greek “genea” can simply mean “an age, the period or the persons.”

I believe that Jesus is giving to the disciples in Matthew 24, a clear explanation of end-time events sequence. We are to watch for the season, knowing that serves as a warning that the day/hour could come completely unexpectantly within the season. The Lord also wants to emphasize that nothing He has told us will go unfulfilled. Though the evil society we have known has an end date, and the broken creation in which we have lived has an end date, the Word of God stands forever!

Whether we are the people who see the season or see the day/hour, we live during a godless generation (or age) that must meet its end under the judgment of holy God. Jesus and His Word is our only safety in all of this.

Surely, the society of people alive at the day/hour of the return of Christ, will be the evilest of all, under the tyranny of Antichrist and the great delusion the Lord sends (2 Thessalonians 2:8-12). In a sense, that particular and literal generation also will not pass away until the Lord has fulfilled every word of His own concerning the end of time. We can apply the meaning generally to this evil age (as compared to the day the Lord reigns unhindered), or specifically to the evil time of society during the tribulation. Nonetheless, the interpretation still stands. The old has to go; the new has to come.

Are you prepared?

Spiritual Confusion – March 1, 2023

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What I would say to every one of us is this: We need to be sure that whoever we listen to and learn from for our spiritual growth, centers always and primarily on the Person and work of Jesus Christ. The presentation of the reality of Jesus Christ must not be peripheral, it must not be simply mentioned in the mix of an otherwise “self-help message,” it must not be a side note; rather, the presentation of the Person and work of Jesus Christ must be altogether the central focus.

He is, in fact, the thread of all of Scripture – from Genesis to Revelation. All other issues – psychological, mental, spiritual, physical, financial, relational, society – ALL other issues are secondary to the issue of building trust in and relationship with Jesus Christ. The other issues resolve themselves in Christ, and in Christ alone.

We should walk away from any preacher/teacher thinking, “Jesus has been made bigger and clearer to me.” We should fall deeper and deeper in love with the Savior – not deeper in love with a philosophy or a method of helping ourselves.

Always discern the core and details of messages. Always weigh all things against the Bible. In this season of a growing antichrist spirit, we will find Jesus “once removed,” if you will, from many messages and teachings. He is “added in,” but He is not the focus.
It is impossible to identify every teacher/preacher/ministry/church that is biblically “off” to some degree. But IT IS possible to know and love the truth, in order to spot what is counterfeit with Holy Spirit-empowered discernment.

That is my word of advice, after having served the Lord all these years, after having taught and preached the Word all these decades in churches of many denominations, after having specialized in apologetics and Christian worldview training, after studying deeply and broadly biblical prophecy, and after growing every single minute in my pursuit of a better relationship with God, through Jesus Christ.

– Shelli Prindle

For many deceivers have gone out into the world, those who do not confess the coming of Jesus Christ in the flesh. Such a one is the deceiver and the antichrist. (2 John 1:7)

You examine the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is those very Scriptures that testify about Me; and yet you are unwilling to come to Me so that you may have life. (John 5:39-40)

Only Two Options – January 25, 2023

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Only Two Options

After an intense study of Scripture, including end-time prophecies, it occurs to me that we have only one of two options regarding the sword of the Spirit, God’s holy Word. Either 1) we use it as a weapon against the powers of darkness as we yield to Jesus, or 2) it is used by Jesus as a weapon against us, if we are on the side of darkness.

At the Battle of Armageddon:

“And the rest were slain by the sword that came from the mouth of him who was sitting on the horse, and all the birds were gorged with their flesh.” (Revelation 19:21)

For Believers Today:

“For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. . . Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm. . . and take . . . the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God …” (Ephesians 6:12-13, 17)

– Shelli Prindle

Why Did Jesus Not Know the Time of His Return – January 25, 2023

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Why Did Jesus Not Know the Time of His Return

There is a Scripture that, at first glance, seems confusing. Matthew 24:36 declares about the day of the Lord’s return, “But concerning that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father only.”

We ask the question, “How could it be that Jesus Christ would not know the day or hour of His own return?” We must begin by remembering a few things. Jesus is and was one hundred percent God and one hundred percent human. In His first coming, Jesus came precisely to pay for our sins and provide salvation. In doing so, He limited Himself in many ways.

First of all, Jesus is God, so He is omnipresent. That means that He is all places at all times, and yet, Christ limited Himself to one body, to walk on this earth one place at a time. Jesus is omnipotent; He has all power. Yet, He did not use the power available to Him many times, as when He was nailed to the cross. He could have stopped all that, and He could have used His power in many ways, but He willingly chose not to, in order to provide our full salvation.

It is the same with the omniscience of Jesus. He knows everything, but He chose not to operate by that omniscience in every situation. The instance of Matthew 24:36 happens to be one of those situations. When He came the first time, He descended and lived here in order to make a way for us to be right with God. Jesus knew, that for Him to tell us the day and hour of His return, would be to stop us from being always prepared.

As a matter of fact, just a few verses after this, Jesus shares a parable to speak of the fact that somebody who thinks that Jesus will be delayed – that the Master is not returning soon – is somebody that is actually a hypocrite, who is not truly living for the Lord. (Matthew 24:48-51) We are to always be waiting for Jesus. We are not to know when the rapture of the church is going to take place, so that we are perpetually ready. That is called the imminent return of Christ.

Does Jesus know the point of His return, now that He has been restored to the glory of the Father in Heaven (John 17:5)? I believe that, yes, He does. However, on earth, He withheld that information from even Himself, so that He could instruct us in the way to live and be right with God.

– Shelli Prindle

Do You Know a False Jesus? – October 3, 2022

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Do You Know a False Jesus?

If you hear the name of Jesus spoken in your church or in the culture, and His name is not often and readily mentioned in conjunction with that long-forgotten word, “sin,” then you most likely are not hearing of the true Jesus.

If religion seems powerless or boring to you, or if it appears to be one of many tools for use in your life, then it is probably because you have not yet encountered the true Christ. In fact, I will go so far as to say that the very dangerous spirit of the antichrist can be closest when Jesus is spoken of, but not accurately so, or – more subtly – not fully described in terms of His essence and mission.

The angelic announcement of His coming to Joseph puts it all in perspective. The very words of God’s supernatural herald ought to be known, repeated, pondered, and upheld in every circle of ministry that claims the title “Christian.”

“Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” (Matthew 1:20-21)

And from that introductory statement of who Jesus is and what He does, spoken to Joseph and to us, we see two indisputable and critical facts:

1) He is God, not born of the seed of man, but placed in the womb of Mary by the Holy Spirit; and yet, He is in flesh, sharing our humanity; and

2) He came to save us from our sins.

In Christendom today, we see the weakening of pure doctrine from the lips of unfaithful people. In alignment with Scripture’s prophecy that spiritual delusion will swell, false teachers will abound, and the spirit of the antichrist will gain ground, we observe so much spoken of Jesus, except the essence of His reality and mission.

Jesus Christ is the God-Man who came expressly to save us from sin. Sin is not only what goes against God and His standards; it is whatever falls even the tiniest bit short of His all-encompassing glory. Sin is rampant in us. Moreover, we cannot be delivered from it without Jesus. We cannot draw near to God and His holiness without the forgiveness of sin through Jesus Christ, the God-Man. He is God with flesh on, to stand in our place and pay for our sinfulness.

Jesus is not your moral teacher. He is not your example. He is not your source for community leadership. He is not a political pawn. He is not one of many ways to God. He is not a cosmic consciousness. He is not the source of holistic medicine. He is not someone who comes along to make you a better version of yourself.

He is the Savior from sin. He is the Re-Maker of a human heart. He is the only Restorer of relationship with the Father.

We are not simply “better off with Him.” We are lost in sin without Him.

Sinners need a Savior. If no one speaks of sin anymore, then people do not know the Savior; they instead know a false Jesus, an antichrist.

– Shelli Prindle

Red Heifer Delusion – September 28, 2022

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Red Heifer Delusion

It is true that red heifers have been delivered to Israel from Texas. As reported by The Jerusalem Post on September 20, 2022, “Five perfectly red heifers required for the ritual purification of those who have touched a dead body, arrived in Israel from a ranch in Texas on Thursday, as the Temple Institute continues preparations to lay the ground for the construction of the Third Temple in Jerusalem.”

As someone who has been teaching the books of Daniel and Revelation for years, I have boldly declared the biblical truth that a temple in Jerusalem will be rebuilt in preparation for the coming Antichrist to declare a peace treaty with Israel that allows Jews to reinstitute the sacrificial system. Antichrist will break the treaty midway through the tribulation and stop the sacrifices in the temple, as the beast himself will then demand worship from the world. This I wholeheartedly believe, for Daniel 9:27, Matthew 24:15, 2 Thessalonians 2:3-4, and Revelation 13:15 are just some of the Scriptures proclaiming the coming event.

Many Jews and people associated with the Temple Institute are working to prepare for the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem on the Temple Mount. They do so, however, with an intention that is antithetical to biblical Christianity and our trust in Jesus Christ as Savior. Strangely, their wrong motives are being used by God Almighty to accomplish His plan for end-time events. The very people, the Jews, are the ones who the Lord will focus on saving during the tribulation period. God is using every circumstance to bring about His intended end.

The current goal of the rebuilding of the temple has nothing to do with Jesus Christ. In fact, the website of the Temple Institute clearly says, “This is the role of the Holy Temple in the life of man: to enable one to realign himself, to dedicate one’s whole self to G-d, to elevate every aspect of the human experience to holiness and return the energy which He gives us to His service.” As biblical Christians, we understand the pivotal truth that nothing can make a person right with God except for Jesus Christ. We depend on His death and resurrection as the sacrifice for our sin. Sin is not mentioned as a problem for the people who are seeking to rebuild the temple, nor is the name of Jesus mentioned in any context. Clearly, the efforts behind the rebuilding of the temple in Jerusalem are religious in nature. In other words, humans are attempting to reach God without the only Mediator, Jesus Christ.

Priestly garments and vessels for the temple are being prepared. And the long-awaited red heifers have arrived. Why does it matter that these red heifers have been delivered to the land? I quote here from the Temple Institute’s website, “Perhaps it would be difficult for some to believe that a cow could be so important. But in truth, the fate of the entire world depends on the red heifer. For G-d has ordained that its ashes alone are the single missing ingredient for the reinstatement of Biblical purity – and thereafter, the rebuilding of the Holy Temple.”

I must be unequivocally clear on this: no one, not me, or you, or anyone, can have sin forgiven and spirit renewed and relationship with God restored without the blood of Jesus Christ. His blood – and His blood alone – is the only substance that brings “purity.” While it is true that under the old covenant of law, the Lord required “a red heifer without defect, in which there is not blemish, and on which a yoke has never come” (Numbers 19:2) for purification for temple service, that requirement has been completely absorbed by the work of Jesus Christ on the cross.

Read carefully the following pivotal passage from Hebrews 10:11-13:

“And every priest stands daily at his service, offering repeatedly the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when Christ had offered for all time a single sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time until his enemies should be made a footstool for his feet.”

Jesus paid the price for all sin at one time. There is no other offering that can be given. There is no other blood that could be shed. There is no other death that could be effective for forgiveness and restoration with God Almighty. Jesus did it all.

Speaking of those who had once followed the law but now trust in the work of Jesus, the writer of Hebrew then adds in verses 15-18 of chapter ten:

“And the Holy Spirit also bears witness to us; for after saying, ‘This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, declares the Lord: I will put my laws on their hearts, and write them on their minds,’ then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’ Where there is forgiveness of these, there is no longer any offering for sin.”

The red heifers are part of a greater plan of religion that looks to laws of purity and sacrifice to attempt to walk with the Lord. However, no work of man can produce this outcome. Every sacrifice of the Old Testament times was a foreshadowing of the ultimate and only sacrifice that can save us – Jesus Christ’s death and resurrection.

In fact, those who seek to rebuild the temple and employ sacrifices once again, are clearly looking to the physical temple in Jerusalem as their source of relationship with God. The Temple Institute website declares that the Holy Temple “was the world’s true spiritual center, and the medium for that unfolding relationship.” Then, “It is the reality of the living memory of that relationship as it once was, and the dream of its renewal, that keeps the fires of the Temple altar burning within the collective heart of the nation of Israel, and the hearts of all those who cherish her G-d and His message for humanity.”

My friends, the physical temple and the animal sacrifices are not the greatest reality. These things only pointed to the greatest reality. Speaking of the priests and sacrifices of the old covenant, Hebrews 8:5-6 proclaims, “They serve a copy and shadow of the heavenly things … But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises.”

The red heifers are part of the old system whose purpose was to point to the devastating sinfulness and impurity of mankind without Jesus Christ. Every drop of blood and every burnt offering pointed to the offering of Christ on the cross. To those who believe in Him, they are restored to relationship with the Father. (John 1:12) The red heifers (whether these ones or others to come) are part of the human effort to bring about a “God consciousness” that is not substantive. It is a diversion from the only Way, the only Truth, and the only Life – Jesus Christ. (John 14:6).

Nonetheless, these things must take place, according to biblical prophecy, for this temple that will soon be built in Jerusalem will eventually become the temple of Antichrist. This makes complete sense, for everyone who denies that Jesus is God in the flesh, is already operating by the spirit of the antichrist. (1 John 4:2-3) Know this, when people believe that in any final sense a human work of sacrifice can placate the wrath of God and please the Creator’s heart, they are of the antichrist spirit of this world system.

As a matter of fact, so central is the work of Christ on the cross as our ultimate sacrifice, that He is referred to as “the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world”! (John 1:29) And when we who trust in Jesus finally see “the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God” (Revelation 21:2) the Apostle John proclaims, “I saw no temple in the city, for its temple is the Lord God the Almighty and the Lamb.” (Revelation 21:22) Did you hear that? The heavenly Jerusalem of the New Heaven and New Earth will have no temple! None is necessary! For Jesus is the temple of God. The Lamb has fulfilled all the requirements of the temple.

For now, we watch prophetic events unfold, but we must do so with an eye toward Jesus always. Do not get caught up in the “hype” of events, without pointing people to our only salvation. Because – after all- the God who superintends all end-time events is the God who sent His Son to save the world.

– Shelli Prindle of Hope & Passion Ministries, Inc.

Spiritual Inventory – September 19, 2022

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Spiritual Inventory

Are you on cruise control, or are you building yourself up in your most holy faith? Do you take your relationship with Jesus for granted, or are you actively investing in your walk with Him?

Are you going through the motions of everyday life, or are you praying in the Holy Spirit? Are you repeating rote prayers, or are you allowing the Spirit of God to direct what you bring to the Lord?

Is your receiving of the love of God something you think of as past tense, or are you carefully guarding the love of God in your life? Do you treasure it and grow in it?

Finally, are you stuck in thoughts of the here and now, or are you eagerly awaiting the greatest of mercy of Jesus Christ that we shall ever receive – the entrance into sinless and everlasting life? Do you crave the day of full redemption when we shall stand in glorified bodies with the King?

The above is a real checklist for those who claim to be Christians, for the Word of God bears forth the reality of believers. Hear it in the tiny book of Jude:

“But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life.” (Jude 1:20-21)

– Shelli Prindle

Why a Pillar of Salt? – September 16, 2022

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Why a Pillar of Salt?

Lot’s wife stood in her sad tracks with head looking backward as a pillar of salt on the plain. She directly disobeyed God’s command to “not look back” at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah, and she was turned into a statue of salt. Dead on the spot. Memorialized as a hunk of rock near cities still burning under the judgment of God.

Jesus minced no words about how we are to process what happened to Lot’s wife. “Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” (Luke 17:32-33)

Clearly, Jesus is setting this example before us to warn us that true salvation leads to a devotion to the cause of Christ that is unmistakable. We must be willing to leave behind our sinful and selfish life to follow the Lord and His plan. We cannot “look back” longingly on the “old life” or the “familiar sins.” We must yield our heart, mind, and body to Jesus and to the work of His kingdom.

Lot’s wife became a pillar of salt. Why salt in particular? Could it have something to do with what Jesus said in Matthew 5:13? “You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people’s feet.”

Christians are to be the preservative of the world. (Salt was used in Bible times as a critical source of food preservative, for there existed no refrigerators or freezers.) We are also to show to the world the flavor of righteousness. By our living differently and righteously, we both present the reality of what Jesus can do in making us new creatures, and we help preserve the world from God’s judgment.

Right before God destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah, Abraham interceded for those sinful cities. However, it was determined that not even ten righteous people remained in these places, and so God decided the time for judgment had arrived. He would have spared it for even ten righteous people still standing as a testimony to God, but since there was not enough “preservative,” destruction fell.

When believers do not act as believers, or when people who profess Christianity act just like the world, what use is the profession of Christianity? When the salt loses its flavor, how damning is the outcome! If Christians are not holy – set aside for God’s purposes – and showing the world what righteousness is, they do more damage to the world than good! A person who says they are Christian but acts like an unsaved sinner leads more astray than an atheist! People look at the “worldly Christian” and say, “So that’s what Christianity is?” And the truth is perverted and hidden.

In the days of Sodom, Lot’s family lost its saltiness. There is myriad fallout from Lot’s compromised life. We have not the space here to discuss the sadness of it all. And because of the lack of righteous people, God brought judgment, for the place would now self-implode from rampant and degrading sin.

Apparently, Lot’s wife looked back longingly at the familiar place of sinfulness, when she should have been running for her life toward the will of God and His escape route! Therefore, having lost her saltiness, she became “good for nothing” as far as a testimony to the world is concerned. Instead of being the salt of the world in vibrant, forward motion with the Lord’s will, she became a statue of salt – stuck in a backward glance – with a totally divided heart toward the Lord. It’s as if God said, “If you won’t be a part of preserving the world like salt does, you will be preserved as a monument to disobedience and half-heartedness.” The very thing you rejected will be the thing that damns you.

My friend, there is no place for indecisive discipleship. When we decide to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, we must move forward. We must not long for what “used to be,” but for what the will of the Lord is! We must run toward righteousness and Heaven, and never look back at sinfulness and Hell.

– Shelli Prindle

But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt. (Genesis 19:26)

Point of Rapture – September 9, 2022

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Point of Rapture

As demonstrated in the historical truth of Sodom and Gomorrah, when Lot was taken out at the last minute before destruction, and as indicated by the Apostle Peter, that the Lord, to our understanding, seems slow to keep His promise of return, because He desires that no one perishes eternally, we know that Jesus will come suddenly to snatch His people from this world right before the judgment of the tribulation.

God is waiting for every last soul that will put their trust in Jesus as Savior to do so. Simultaneously, He is waiting for wickedness to reach a threshold that He will no longer tolerate, to the detriment of His people.

Therefore, when these two factors meet that God-given point of intersection, Jesus will whisk away His followers from this world, and then God will usher in the tribulation period.

The number of truly righteous people declines as the last-days apostasy sets in, and wickedness grows as godlessness and lawlessness increases. Surely, a number of falsely “spiritual” people still exists, but only those dedicated to the truth of Jesus Christ are righteous, for it is only the blood of Jesus Christ that He shed on the cross that can make any of us right with God.

The rapture is coming. Judgment is coming. Jesus is then coming back with His people to set up His millennial kingdom. Amen!

– Shelli Prindle

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but hat all should reach repentance.” (2 Peter 3:9)

“As morning dawned, the angels urged Lot, saying, ‘Up! Take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be swept away in the punishment of the city.’ But he lingered. So the men seized him and his wife and his two daughters by the hand, the Lord being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city.” (Genesis 19:15-16)

“And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another. And many false prophets will arise and lead many astray. And because lawlessness will be increased, the love of many will grow cold.” (Matthew 24:10-12)

“For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord.” (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17)

The Reason for Every Regular Day Jesus Lived

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– The God who designed a woman’s womb was birthed from one with much travail.

– The One whose joy is everlasting had to burst into tears as He took His first breath.

– Jesus who spins the planets around the sun now stands beneath the moon and stars.

– Christ who powers that bright orb now grows weary under its heat at the peak of day.

– The God of perfect, triune love feels the sting of hatred and desertion.

– The One who supplies all creatures with daily food experiences hunger pangs.

– Jesus who created the universe in six days without exertion now grows tired at each day’s end.

– Christ who is eternal now knows the gloom of impending death all His earthly days.

– The God who formed each person’s body with intricacy and wonder now walks about in flesh that feels pain.

– The One who is Lord of the universe becomes just one Person among many, unknown and unpopular.

– Jesus who owns the whole world now faces the sting of poverty.

– Christ who never sinned becomes the sacrifice for all sin.

– God who sustains the life of all creation must raise Himself from the reality of death.

– The Christ of Heaven must ascend back to Heaven.

– The God of all glory who willingly chose to do all this will come again to restore us to the glory He originally intended.

We celebrate at Christmastime the day of the birth of Jesus Christ. While this is important, we cannot forget the days after His birth and the totality of the life He lived preceding His death and resurrection. For these days, we are most thankful. These days enabled Him to be made “perfect through suffering” on our behalf. (Hebrews 2:10, ESV).

Jesus suffered long before His crucifixion. The highest of all beings descended to the lowest of human experiences. Isaiah 53:2-3 (ESV) assures us that Jesus was not a glamorous or popular person and that, in fact, He was “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

When we hear in Hebrews 2:10 that Jesus was made “perfect through suffering,” God does not mean to say that Jesus had ever been imperfect or sinful. The word rendered “perfect” here means “to be brought to completion” or “to have the end goal accomplished.” How amazing that God chose to complete the job of participating in our suffering by enduring the regular, human struggle – including Monday mornings! – from the day of His birth to the day of His death.

Hebrews 2:10 heartens us, because we realize that the founder of our salvation knows exactly how we feel in the human experience. Jesus began the journey of identifying with us from the moment He descended to the womb of Mary. And every minute after that added to the process of Christ fully identifying with our frustration, pain, loneliness, and heartache.

The culmination of all His days was the moment He cried out on the cross, “It is finished” (John 19:30, ESV). The work was then complete. All our sin had been paid for, as Jesus had walked all His days as we walk in order to be the perfect substitute for us.

Thank you, Jesus, for your humble birth in to the world – and for EVERY DAY thereafter.

“Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people.” (Hebrews 2:17, NLT)

You Need a Counselor with a Capital “C”

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Do you feel like you need a counselor? Is your heart heavy or confused? Can you picture yourself sitting in a comfortable chair as you attempt to respond to the suggestion, “Tell me all about yourself”?

How could you ever fully explain yourself to someone else? Even if we had an infinite amount of time to reveal what we know of our experiences from birth to present, we could not disclose everything about ourselves; for we do not know! Our memories are not comprehensive or perfect. Our understanding of the effects of life’s experiences on us is severely limited. We cannot possibly tie together the vast intricacies of our emotions, and the motivations of our hearts remain largely a mystery to our frail minds.

Jeremiah 17:9 (ESV) instructs us, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” Not only can no other human being – no matter how compassionate or educated – comprehend us, but we cannot understand ourselves. Our tainted hearts deceive us, as they are sick from sin. We need Someone greater to figure us out.

That is exactly where the famous Christmas verse comes into play. “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; . . . and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor” (Isaiah 9:6, ESV). In the original Hebrew language, the word “wonderful” means “a wonder, a marvel, an extraordinary thing.” Jesus is the only Counselor who is more than ordinary – greater than human frailty and limitations. He is God the Counselor.

God the Counselor knows everything! Picture the human heart with all its cracks and fissures. Think of all the aspects of your being that you cannot fathom. Envision the hurts and confusion. Now picture God the Counselor knowing every part of your heart – pouring His love into every crevice and filling it with His healing salve.

When Jesus prepared to leave this earth, He said the Father would send us a Helper to be with us forever – the Holy Spirit (John 14:16-17). The Holy Spirit is fully God, the third Person of the triune Godhead. He is our Helper – or Counselor. You do not need to go to His office for help; He is with you now. When you sincerely pray, He will intercede for you, since you cannot possibly know how exactly to pray for every circumstance (Romans 8:26-27). He is your Advocate, bringing you closer to God and into His will. He is your Counselor, healing you in ways you cannot see. He drives everything about our personality into alignment with God’s will as we believe and ask Him to. In ways unknown and quite mysterious to us, the Holy Spirit is doing the repair work necessary for our well-being, our wholeness.

Ephesians 3:16-19 assures us that God’s love – through the Holy Spirit – descends deeper into our heart than human comprehension. While we calculate volume in our three-dimensional space as length times width times height, God tells us His love goes to a fourth dimension – a depth beyond our grasp. His healing goes infinitely far beyond the help of any human, to exactly the level we need.

Your proper understanding of our Wonderful Counselor is vital in order for you to act on the promise. Equipped with this truth about our Counselor, meet with Him now – wherever you are. Ask Him to fill in every crack and crevice of your heart . . . and to make you part of God’s unbroken, perfect will.

Unlike any human counselor who can only make suggestions based on severely limited comprehension, God gives commands. He can rightfully tell us exactly what to do, for His knowledge of us and our circumstances is perfect. Rejoice in His Word, the Bible, because its instructions are for your healing. It is the Word of the Counselor, with a capital “C.”