A VACATION BREAK

     Over the next couple of weeks, I am going on a short vacation with my family and am going to start preparations for my new school year, so I’ve decided to take a short break from posting. My next new post will be by Sunday, August 15; however, I want to ask all of you to do something for me in the meantime. When I start posting again, I will only have three or so posts to go before I’m finished with what was going to be a manuscript for a book. Through prayer and some interesting circumstances, I’ve decided to not pursue publication for a book. Rather, I am just going to leave my posts up for anyone to freely read and share with others. And, I am also going to keep writing posts once a week (Lord willing)–that’s where you all come in.

     I have a couple of topics–context (how we read the Bible) and hearing the voice of God–I want to write about in my posts. But, I would also like your suggestions for topics and, even more important, any questions you would like to discuss. If you have time and want to, you could read over any previous posts that you might not understand or that you might have questions about. Please e-mail me your suggestions and questions–my address is phzell@charter.net. (My comments are not working right now–sorry!)

     So, be blessed of God and have a wonderful couple of weeks until I post again. God loves us all and His love is absolute–perfect, complete, and real!

No Comments

patriciazell, July 27th 2010 | Tags: , , , , ,
Posted in Uncategorized

#51 THE CALL TO OVERCOME: PSALM 91:1-2

     Many years ago, after my husband almost died twice in an eighteen month period, God focused our attention on a Psalm which has become one of the most meaningful passages in our lives. At the time, God had already encouraged us with Deuteronomy 30:15-20 (choosing life and blessings rather than choosing death and cursings); in this Psalm, we found the foundation that gave us the ability to choose life and blessings. Psalm 91 spoke so clearly to me that I copied it down and posted it on our front door. Every time we came into our house, we were reminded of the power of dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High, so this Psalm remained on our door for a number of years and built our confidence in the absolute love that God has for all of us. It also became the call to overcome in our lives. For, truly, if we have any hope of overcoming the kingdom of evil, it has to begin with our choice of where we live. 

He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, “He is my refuge and my fortress; My God, in Him I will trust.      (Psalm 91: 1-2)

     When we began our discussions through the first several posts of this blog, we talked about how God was all there was before He started creating and how He created an alternative to Himself before He created any beings (first post, http://is.gd/d56i5). We inferred that, when God removed Himself from a “place,” the Wrath of God came into existence and was completely separate from where God was (aka the Secret Place of the Most High). Then we went on to discuss how Lucifer became Satan and set up his kingdom in the Wrath of God and how God went to the kingdom of evil to create our world. So, in the world we live in, two basic forces (good and evil) exist and God has given us the right to choose which force rules our lives. The trouble is our world is full of deception and misunderstanding because, by finding a way to scam Adam and Eve, Satan was able to construct an impenetrable wall between God and the human race. Satan built such a network of lies that finding truth was neigh to impossible (only Enoch and Elijah were able to get around Satan’s ploy). The Bible tells us how God worked with humans over many years to break through all the roadblocks Satan erected and how He made the way for Christ to be born. After Christ worked on correcting some of the misunderstandings people had about God, he went to the cross where he knocked down that dividing wall and made a way for people to not only find truth, but also for them to choose life and blessings. Christ opened the door to the Secret Place of the Most High for anyone who wants to enter. 

     Way back when I was in college, my Christian friends and I talked a great deal about having quiet times with God–times that we would devote to reading the Bible and praying. In my mind, somehow, this concept of having quiet times equaled visiting with God during regularly scheduled meetings. At that young age, I was challenged not only to find time for my quiet time, but also, to keep my mind centered on reading the Bible and praying while I was meeting with God. However, my concept of relating to God began changing after I graduated from college and moved away from family and friends. Suddenly, I didn’t have anyone but God to rely on, and I transitioned from having quiet time meetings with God to living my life snuggled next to Him on a comfy couch. In other words, I found my place in the Secret Place of the Most High and moved in. In the years since, I have never regretted my decision.

     Have you ever heard a sentiment that says something like God demands our worship and praise for His own sake because He is who He is? I think sometimes the statements we Christians make portray God as being somewhat egoistic. Psalm 91 shows us that God is not all about Himself, but He is all about us. He wants us to live in the place where He is–not for His sake, but for our sakes. Abiding under the shadow of the Almighty gives us a place of safety in a world of evil. As verse 2 encourages us, we can look at the Secret Place of the Most High through the lenses of being a refuge and a fortress. The dictionary defines “refuge” as being shelter or protection from danger or difficulty and “fortress” (fort, fortify) as being a permanent defensive place that is strengthened against attack. If anything is clear in our world, it is the fact that evil is intent on destroying all of us. Through Christ, God has made the way for us to escape that evil and to reach the point where our defense can destroy Satan’s offense. So, God wants us to abide in Him for our good, not for His selfish purposes.

     Psalm 91:2 ends with the words, “…in Him (God) I will trust.” I think we struggle with this word, “trust.” How many times have you trusted someone only to be disappointed or hurt? Yet, practically everywhere we go, we hear the words, “Just trust me (or us)?” I would like to propose a concept that has grown in my life as I have walked with God–I do not trust any human being (including myself), but I do trust God. Trust is defined as the firm confidence in the honesty, integrity, reliability, justice, etc. of another person or thing. As far as I can see, if the Bible is reality, there is only one entity who is worthy of our trust and that is God. Everyone and everything else in our world are subject to variableness. James 1:17 tells us that God does not vary in any way at all–His absolute love never changes. So, through the years, I have learned to put my trust in God and to obey Him by loving myself and my fellow human beings.

     Dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High is a matter of choice, not of feelings. Listen again to God’s words found in Deuteronomy 30:19-20:

   I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live; that you may love the Lord your God, that you may obey His voice, and that you may cling (cleave, KJV) to Him for He is your life and the length of your days; and that you may dwell in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them.

Life is found through dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High, for it is there where we can find the knowledge, understanding, and wisdom we need to overcome the kingdom of evil. Each and every one of us has the right to abide under the shadow of the Almighty. We have a distinct choice in our world, and I’m praying for the day when all of us will understand the power of dwelling in the Secret Place of the Most High.

    All scriptures have been taken from the NKJV.

     ©2009-2010 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

      

Comments Off

patriciazell, July 20th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in THE CALL TO OVERCOME

#50 THE RETURN OF CHRIST: THE THEMES, PART 2

     Have you ever wondered why Revelation starts out with Christ talking to seven churches? (If you have time, you might want to read Revelation 1-3 to get an overview what Christ said.) While all of the churches had strengths and/or weaknesses that Christ pointed out, there was one common thread throughout his discourse–”He who overcomes…” Sometimes, I think we take those words too lightly when they could be some of the most important words for us to hear in regards to the return of Christ. You see, along with the reality of God’s absolute love prevailing over the kingdom of evil, another major theme during the saga of Christ’s second coming is the ability of the human race to overcome that same kingdom of evil.

     Let’s take another look at Revelation 15:2, “And I saw something like a sea of glass mixed with fire, and those who had been victorious over the beast and his image and the number of his name, standing on the sea of glass, holding harps of God.” Now, I know some people think these words visualize a scene in heaven, but let’s reason this verse out and see if we come up with a different understanding. These people standing on the “sea of glass mixed with fire” won the victory against the beast, his image, and his number. Or, in other words, these people won the victory against Satan and the kingdom of evil. What is Satan’s express purpose towards the human race?  To steal, to kill, and to destroy (John 10:10). Everything he has planned against the human race is designed to completely wipe out God’s creation. So, in order to win the victory over the kingdom of evil, the people in Revelation 15:2 had to overcome the loss, death, and destruction that Satan brought against them. 

     Earlier in Revelation, John had already discussed how these people overcame the kingdom of evil, so let’s backtrack to that description in Revelation 12:11 (NKJV), “And they overcame him (Satan) by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, and they did not love their lives to the death.” Let’s start with the last statement first because, on the surface, those words sound like the people who overcame ended up dead which is exactly what Satan wanted them to be. What a contradiction–let’s see if we can clarify what John’s words mean. Let’s start with Hebrews 9:27, “And insamuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment…” and with Galatians 2:20, “I have been crucified with Christ; and it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me.” I propose that the death that John talks about is the same death that Galatians 2:20 talks about. This is the beauty of God’s plan; when people accept Christ, the sin (unbelief) that ruled their lives from the inside of them dies. Sin is dead, period! Because their sin is dead and because they have been made the righteousness of God (II Corinthians 5:21), believers can come to God and go through judgment to get rid of every iota of the effects of sin in their lives (aka the baptism of fire). So, not loving their lives to the death may simply mean they did not hold onto unbelief. (Remember the first words of Revelation 21:8, “But for the cowardly and unbelieving…”) And, because these believers defeat the kingdom of evil through faith, they are able to put on immortality the instant Christ returns.

     Now, let’s go back to the first two statements that John made in Revelation 12:11–believers overcame Satan by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony. I think many times when we think about Christ’s death on the cross, we focus on the forgiveness of our sins. Again, Christ’s death on the cross accomplished so much more than just the forgiveness of sins (remember, under the Mosaic law, the offerings that were set up also provided for the forgiveness of sins). I believe the blood of the Lamb covers everything that Christ accomplished on the cross. He obliterated the dividing wall between God and us, and then made the way for us to become full sons of God through the new birth, the baptism of the Holy Spirit, and the baptism of fire. Those believers who are victorious over the kingdom of evil have taken full advantage of what Christ has accomplished through his cross. And, the word of their testimony–the words they speak–reflects their position as sons of God. These words are particularly important in their prayer closets as they seek knowledge, understanding, and wisdom from God and use what He gives them to bind the kingdom of evil and loose the kingdom of God (Matthew 18:18). Of course, these believers also live in love through their deeds and through finding truth in their own lives (I John 3:18), thus their testimony among their fellow human beings is one of being faithful.

     Before we end this week’s post, I want to broach the topic of the unforgiveable sin, the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit. In Mark 3:28-29, Jesus spoke these words, “Truly, I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin.” Mark added a comment in verse 30 that the reason Christ spoke these words was because people were saying Christ had a unclean spirit, but I propose that the meaning of Christ’s words goes much deeper than just the words people speak. Let’s begin with Hebrew 6:4-6:

   For in the case of those who have once been enlightened and have tasted of the heavenly gift and have been made partakers of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come, and then have fallen away, it is impossible to renew them again to repentance, since they again crucify to themselves the Son of God and put Him to open shame.

Again, on the surface, these verses seem to imply that it is fairly easy to blaspheme the Holy Spirit–the words “tasted” and “have been made partakers” seem to infer actions that have little depth to them. However, due to the power of God’s absolute love,  I propose that it is almost impossible for any of us to have already blasphemed the Holy Spirit. In order to understand this, let’s go back to when Satan was Lucifer. This angel was created in truth, good, life, light, and spirit; Lucifer was completely free from the Wrath of God. Now, because he created sin by looking at his own beauty, he let go of God and of truth–in a sense, he blasphemed God because it was impossible for him to repent. Now, in John 14-16, Jesus talked about the Holy Spirit being the spirit of truth. I propose that the only people who can blaspheme the Holy Spirit are those people who have been totally set free from all deception and who have overcome the kingdom of evil. In a sense, these people would be in the same position as Lucifer before he fell. If, at that point, any believer willingly chooses to let go of God like Lucifer did, then there is no second chance.

     Do I think any one will blaspheme the Holy Spirit–absolutely not because unlike Lucifer, we do not start out in truth, good, life, light, and spirit. We are physically born as captives of the kingdom of evil and only become free of that captivity as God ministers to us through the Holy Spirit. I do not believe that anyone who has fully experienced the absolute love of God will choose to let go of Him. However, because God is love, He will never remove our freedom of choice, so the blaspheme of the Holy Spirit will remain possible until the White Throne Judgment is complete. 

     All scriptures are taken from the NASB unless otherwise noted.

     ©2009-2010 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

No Comments

patriciazell, July 11th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in THE RETURN OF CHRIST

#48 THE RETURN OF CHRIST: THE PLOT, PART 3

***Note: due to a mistake I made last week, post #49 follows this post. Oh, well, I am definitely not a tech person.

     In this post, we’re going to wrap up the sequence of events that might occur throughout the process of Christ’s return. We left off with the marriage supper of the Lamb (Revelation 19) which we found represents the celebration of our victory over Satan and his cohorts. Now, Revelation 20:1-10 tells something else takes place at the return of Christ–Satan is bound and sealed in a deep, deep pit for a thousand years. The purpose of this “prison sentence” is that Satan would not be able deceive the human race during that time. This passage also says that those who were resurrected and those who were changed as Christ returned would take their places on thrones to rule with him. The question is, who are they reigning over? Since in every war there are both casualties and prisoners of war, I’m thinking that the forces of evil that were taken as prisoners of war leading up to the return of Christ might be the ones who are ruled over with a rod of iron (Revelation 19:15). Then, when Satan is released at the end of the thousand years, he gathers those forces and goes out to deceive the human race again. However, before he even reaches them, he is captured and thrown into the lake of fire.

     By the way, speaking of the thousand year reign, I’m sure some of us have wondered what its significance is. I wouldn’t be surprised, if it is a literal thousand years, that it is a part of the revenge of God on the kingdom of evil for the devastation Satan and his cohorts have brought upon the human race. What would be more fitting a punishment for Satan than to have to watch the human race be one with God without being able to do anything about it?

     Next, let’s go on to the White Throne Judgment described in Revelation 19:11-15. Here is where we are going to tackle the concept of God’s absolute love. Many traditional teachings have told us that, at this point, all who never accepted Christ are going to be cast into eternal hell. Indeed, there are some scriptures that seem to point in that direction. For example, Matthew 25:31-46 talks about Christ separating the sheep from the goats when he returns, and the goats will go into eternal punishment. The most important aspect of this passage is found in the identity of the sheep and goats. Christ said nothing about accepting him or even about loving God, but he said that what separated the sheep from the goats was how they treated other people. Remember, Christ was talking to the Hebrews whose tradition revolved around the Mosaic law rather than around their interactions with other people. I think Christ was making a strategic point to his listeners (and to us) about what is important to him and his Father: their adherence to the law wouldn’t save them, but being kind would.  Furthermore, Christ made another statement in John 5:28-29 which might add some clarity to what he said in Matthew, “Do not marvel at this; for an hour is coming, in which all who are in the tombs will hear His voice, and will come forth; those who did good deeds to a resurrection of life, those who committed the evil deeds to a resurrection of judgment.”

     Remember when we talked about the baptism of fire as part of the process of becoming a son of God (post #31)? The fire represents the power of the cleansing that God sends us through. As the time of Christ’s approaches, vast multitudes people will go through that fire and get rid of all evil in their lives because Satan looses the power of deception (Revelation 7:14). Now, let me ask a question, why do people die without Christ? Try listing as many reasons as you can and think about them. Don’t all of the reasons come down to the same point of people not understanding the absolute love of God? Whose fault is that? Satan’s, because he is the father of lies. I propose that the White Throne Judgment is where God takes care of the results of Satan’s deceptions. 

     Not too far back, God painted a picture in my mind. I saw a man bent over under a huge load of evil deeds–his forehead was touching his knees. He was before God and God lifted an evil deed from his back. I saw God bend over to look straight into the man’s eyes and to say these words, “This is the deception you believed, and here is the truth, I love you. Now do you want Me to give it back to you or should I throw it into the fire?” The man answered, “Into the fire,” and so the process went on until every evil deed had been tossed into the fire. The man ended up standing straight and looking God in the eye. Then, God asked him the final question, “What do you choose–life or death, blessing or cursing?” (Deuteronomy 30:15-20). In a loud, clear voice, the man replied, “I choose life and blessings.”

     I Corinthians 3:11-15 back this mental image up. Listen to Paul’s words:

   For no man can lay a foundation other than the one which is laid, which is Jesus Christ. Now if any man builds on the foundation with gold, silver, precious stones, wood, hay, straw, each man’s work will become evident; for the day will show it because it is to be revealed with fire, and the fire itself will test the quality of each  man’s work. If any man’s work is burned up, he will suffer loss; but he himself will be saved, yet so as through fire.

What is the foundation that is Christ? I John 2:1-2 says it well, “…And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous; and He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” This foundation–this outworking of God’s absolute love–is that everyone’s sin was forgiven through Christ’s death on the cross. Just because Satan has kept some people from understanding truth doesn’t mean God’s love was stymied. God is greater than Satan and His love is absolute–perfect, complete, and real.

     In my next post, we will be talking about the end result of God’s absolute love. But, before we pause in our discussion, I want to point out a significant misunderstanding some of us have. I’ve heard people speak of eternal hell–in fact, some use the threat of eternal hell to try to get people saved. Guess what–Revelation 20:13-14 overrules that doctrine. Listen to the wording, “And the sea gave up the death which were in it, and death and [hell, KJV] gave up the dead which were in them…Then death and [hell] were thrown into the lake of fire…” Neither death nor hell are eternal because they end up in the lake of fire and they will never harass the human race again.

     Now, let’s consider just what hell is. In Matthew 10:28, Christ said this, “Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul, but rather fear him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.” Tradition has told us that the one who is able to destroy us in hell is God, but let’s think  this through. The next three verses in Matthew 10 talk about the care our Father has for us. In our tradition, there’s a huge contradiction–on one hand, we’re to fear God because He can send us to hell while at the same time, He cares for us and has counted the hairs of our head!! What??

     I think John 10:10 has our answer, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it [more, KJV] abundantly.” Satan is the one who destroys, not God! I believe hell is a work of Satan in his depraved effort to completely destroy the human race. Before God takes care of all the evil deeds people have done, He is going to eradicate death and hell forever. Then, when people stand in front of Him at the White Throne Judgment, they will no longer have to fear the one who destroyed their souls and bodies in death and hell. They will be set free!

     All scripture passages are taken from the NASB unless otherwise noted. Please feel free to comment–just be respectful!

     ©2009-2010 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

Comments Off

patriciazell, June 27th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , ,
Posted in THE RETURN OF CHRIST

#49 THE RETURN OF CHRIST: THE THEMES, PART 1

     Looking at what we’ve been discussing about the biblical prophecies of the return of Christ, I’d like us to think about any main messages that are intertwined with the events taking place. I’m thinking there are two themes, in particular, that provide a perspective and a context that will strengthen us as we face unprecedented trouble and turmoil in our world. To set the stage for these themes, let’s start by looking at a passage that we’ve talked about before–listen to what Isaiah 25:6-9 says:

   The Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all people on this mountain; a banquet of aged wine, choice pieces with marrow, and refined, aged wine. And on this mountain He will swallow up the covering which is over all peoples, even the veil which is stretched over all nations. He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces, and He will remove the reproach of His people from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken. And it will be said in that day, “Behold, this is our God for whom we have waited that He might save us. This is the Lord for whom we have waited; Let us rejoice and be glad in His salvation.”

For some reason, many of us believe the salvation of the Lord consists of us going to heaven when we die. However, this passage puts this concept in much different terms–God’s salvation is when He prepares a lavish banquet for everyone, when He swallows up death forever, and when He wipes the tears away from all faces. Now, think about these verses and keep the wording of what Isaiah wrote in mind as we go back to Revelation.

     Amid all of the frightening details of his vision of the time surrounding the return of Christ, John did describe some wonderful moments. For example, when he wrote of  the vast multitudes of people who came out of the great tribulation and washed their robes white in the blood of the Lamb, he went on to tell what happened next in their lives (Revelation 7:15-17):

   For this reason, they are before the throne of God; and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. They will hunger no longer, nor thirst anymore; nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any heat; for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to the springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.

Here are those words again–God will wipe every tear from their eyes. The same words that Isaiah used.

     Now, in my last post, we talked about the White Throne Judgment. Immediately after describing that process, John began to discuss the next occurrence, the new heaven and the new earth. Before we read his description, let’s take a quick look at something Peter wrote in his second letter, “But according to His promise we are looking for new heavens and a new earth, in which righteousness dwells” (II Peter 3:13). The force of the new heavens and the new earth will be righteousness. Because evil has been dealt with and cast into the lake of fire, the new heavens and the new earth will be free from sin and guilt. With this verse in mind, let’s read John’s description of this new world (Revelation 21:1-4):

   Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth; for the first heaven and the first earth passed away, and there is no longer any sea. And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, made ready as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, “Behold, the tabernacle of God is among men, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, and He will wipe away every tear from their eyes; and there will no longer be any death; there will no longer be any mourning, or crying, or pain; the first things have passed away.

Now, here’s a question: In Revelation 7, God wipes away the tears of everyone who came out of great tribulation before the return of Christ. If those are the people who put on immortality at the return of Christ, then whose tears is God wiping away as the new heaven and the new earth manifest? As far as I can see, this second group of people are those who have stood before the White Throne Judgment. They are the ones who carried a load of deception and evil deeds to their physical deaths and who faced God before His throne to learn truth and to go through the fire. I propose that every human being has to go through the baptism of fire–not because God is mad at us, but because the deception and evil deeds cause death, loss, and destruction. God wants us to have life, the life more abundant than the workings of evil, so He pulls all evil from our lives and casts it into His consuming fire.

     With this context, let’s look at the words that God spoke to John in Revelation 21:5-8,

   And He who sits on the throne said, “Behold, I am making all things new.” And He said, “Write, for these words are faithful and true.” Then He said to me, “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost. He who overcomes will inherit these things, and I will be his God and he will be My son. But for the cowardly and unbelieving and abominable and murderers and immoral persons and sorcerers and idolaters and all liars, their part will be in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.”

Here is what we should understand about these words. All of us have deceptions and evil deeds in our lives (anyone who has never lied raise your hand). The question is when do we deal with that evil? If we thirst for God  and if we are willing to go through the baptism of fire while we are alive, then we will be transformed into sons of God, we will put on immortality at the point of Christ’s return, and the second death will not touch us (Revelation 2:11). However, if we do die without going through the fire, we will face God in the final judgment and go through the fire then. No matter when we face God and find truth, He will be there to wipe our tears away because He loves us! God knows the battle that is raging against the human race and He does not condemn us. He sent His only begotten Son to destroy Satan’s ability to keep us separated from Him. In the end, every human being will have the opportunity to look God straight in the eye and to find the love that makes us His sons.

     So, here is one of the two major themes intertwined with the return of Christ: God’s absolute love will prevail, thus Satan’s plan to destroy God’s creation will completely fail. To put in other terms, God’s absolute love is greater than the kingdom of evil. To repeat part of Isaiah 25:6-8, “And the Lord of hosts will prepare a lavish banquet for all peoples on this mountain…He will swallow up death for all time, and the Lord God will wipe tears away from all faces…” This, my friends, is the good news of the gospel!

     All scripture passages are taken from the NASB. Please feel free to comment, just keep it respectful.

     ©2009-2010 by Patricia Zell. All rights reserved.

No Comments

patriciazell, June 27th 2010 | Tags: , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in THE RETURN OF CHRIST
« Older Posts