Psalm 5 from the Message

Posted by on October 15, 2011 No comments

I am a fan of The Message.  I love the way it takes truths of scripture and bring out some of the subtleties that we could miss. While it would never be my only Bible (or main Bible),  it is valuable to bring light and understanding to God’s message for us.

Psalm 5 is a place that does that.  So here it is….

Psalm 5:1-12 (MSG)
1 A David psalm Listen, GOD! Please, pay attention! Can you make sense of these ramblings,
2 my groans and cries? King-God, I need your help.
3 Every morning you’ll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend.
4 You don’t socialize with Wicked, or invite Evil over as your houseguest.
5 Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you; you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.
6 GOD destroys Lie-Speaker; Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.
7 And here I am, your invited guest— it’s incredible! I enter your house; here I am, prostrate in your inner sanctum,
8 Waiting for directions to get me safely through enemy lines.
9 Every word they speak is a land mine; their lungs breathe out poison gas. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides.
10 Pile on the guilt, God! Let their so-called wisdom wreck them. Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.
11 But you’ll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to you. Let the party last all night! Stand guard over our celebration.
12 You are famous, GOD, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight.

Psalm 5:1-12 (MSG)

1 A David psalm Listen, GOD! Please, pay attention! Can you make sense of these ramblings,

2 my groans and cries? King-God, I need your help.

3 Every morning you’ll hear me at it again. Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend.

4 You don’t socialize with Wicked, or invite Evil over as your houseguest.

5 Hot-Air-Boaster collapses in front of you; you shake your head over Mischief-Maker.

6 GOD destroys Lie-Speaker; Blood-Thirsty and Truth-Bender disgust you.

7 And here I am, your invited guest— it’s incredible! I enter your house; here I am, prostrate in your inner sanctum,

8 Waiting for directions to get me safely through enemy lines.

9 Every word they speak is a land mine; their lungs breathe out poison gas. Their throats are gaping graves, their tongues slick as mudslides.

10 Pile on the guilt, God! Let their so-called wisdom wreck them. Kick them out! They’ve had their chance.

11 But you’ll welcome us with open arms when we run for cover to you. Let the party last all night! Stand guard over our celebration.

12 You are famous, GOD, for welcoming God-seekers, for decking us out in delight.

Signs of the Coming of the Lord: Famine

Posted by on October 13, 2011 No comments

One of the great tragedies foretold in Scripture is a time of devastating famine; a time when people starve, while others flourish. Jesus tells of this in Revelations 6:5-6 with a description of the unleashing of the Black Horseman of the Apocalypse.

Revelation 6:5-6 (NASB)
5 When He broke the third seal, I heard the third living creature saying, “Come.” I looked, and behold, a black horse; and he who sat on it had a pair of scales in his hand.
6 And I heard something like a voice in the center of the four living creatures saying, “A quart of wheat for a denarius, and three quarts of barley for a denarius; and do not damage the oil and the wine.”

This describes a time of economic catastrophe when a huge portion of the world’s population does not have enough to buy bread while others have the luxuries of life (the oil and the wine: Prov. 21:17 tells us these are the pleasures of life). In the world today, nearly 1 billion people are malnourished with little hope of getting the basic necessities of food and water. That number has been increasing over the years. The chart below is based on statistics given by the United Nations …

A denarius was a day’s wage. According to Earth Trends and other sources, 1.1 billion people are living on less than a dollar a day (http://earthtrends.wri.org/updates/node/6). With the economic unbalance in the world, the most likely scenario is that this will get worse.

Jesus told the Apostles that famine would be a sign of His impending coming. In Luke 21:10-11, He says,

10 Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom,
11 and there will be great earthquakes, and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

Has this horseman come? Has this sign been fulfilled? If not, we must be getting closer.

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Location:Famine

A cool testimony…

Posted by on October 12, 2011 No comments

This was sent to my wife Pam from Tiffany ….

  • Hi Pam,

    I’m a crossroads member, and I just wanted to let you and pastor Chuck know how much the new journals mean to me.

    I’m a second-generation Christian. I went to Christian elementary and middle schools, grew up in the church, gave my life to Christ early on… I knew how to do word studies, use concordances and Bible dictionaries, study context and history… But my family got pretty messed up. My dad was abusive, and my mom became emotionally distant. We never did family studies, and I never really learned how to journal my studies or complete a “normal” type of Bible study.

    I was embarrassed not to know, and the people I asked at a couple of Christian bookstores just referred me to beginners’ classes. My QT was increasingly frustrating and disorganized, I didn’t know what to do about it, and I didn’t know who to ask.

    I really appreciate having this journal. I needed steps. Sometimes I get overwhelmed in uncertain details, and I had seldom finished a study in entirety until this past week. The passages are manageable, the subject is flexible, the instructions are clear. I have finished two QTs with my new journal, and I’m really learning. I’m ready for this commitment.

    I’m so glad I found Crossroads. Thank you.

Contagion

Posted by on October 11, 2011 No comments

Recently, the movie Contagion was released. The film is about a fast spreading plague that wipes out a huge portion of the world’s population. One of the reviews I read said that the writers and producers wanted the film to be scientifically accurate. Not only did they succeed from a medical view point, they succeeded to be accurate from a Biblical point of view as well.

Jesus in Luke 21 said this would be one the signs of His coming:
Luke 21:10-11 Then He continued by saying to them, “Nation will rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom, 11 and there will be great earthquakes,
and in various places plagues and famines; and there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

There have been epidemics throughout the history of the world. The Bubonic Plague (Black Plague) which hit Europe in 1348-1350 brought fear along with death. People were in terror that as the disease went from town to town and village to village that no one would survive. It is estimated that 100 million people died. It is interesting that a myth arose equating the children’s nursery rhyme with the Black Plague…
Ring a round the rosies, a pocket full of posies,
ashes, ashes, we all fall down.

In 1918 the world experienced another pandemic, the Spanish Flu. This disease claimed the lives of 100 million people. The fact that this disease killed the healthy and the young brought on a sense of panic as every feeling of a cough or sneeze could mean you were exposed to this deadly virus. The result was a flu season that killed 5% of the world’s population.

In Revelation, Jesus reveals that this will be part of the judgment associated with the Ashen horseman. The end result will be the death of 25% of the world’s population.
Revelation 6
7 When the Lamb broke the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living
creature saying, “Come.”
8 I looked, and behold, an ashen horse; and he who sat on it had the name
Death; and Hades was following with him. Authority was given to them over a fourth of the earth, to kill with sword and with famine and with pestilence and
by the wild beasts of the earth.

In Ezekiel, God calls these His severe judgements…

Ezek. 14:21 For thus says the Lord GOD, “How much more when I send My
four severe judgments against Jerusalem: sword, famine, wild beasts and
plague to cut off man and beast from it!

This plague will be severe, but these are the days in which we live. Most cities hold disaster preparedness drills to be ready for when this day comes. The CDC and the World Health Organization are continually tracking the mutation of the H5N1 flu virus as they are predicting the day this turns deadly.

As I sit here writing this, I feel a cold coming on…or maybe it’s…

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24:7 continues to see lives touched

Posted by on October 10, 2011 No comments

Sunday was an amazing day. It seems every Sunday is, but with the start of 24:7 something new is happening!

We had 59 decisions for Christ and 17 baptisms!
One young woman who came forward told us that something was literally pulling her out of her seat.

Another woman shared that she felt led to pray for a College student who was sitting near her. It seemed God had him more and more on her heart. As the invitation was going, she stepped near him and asked if he wanted to go. He looked shocked and then went forward. He was the last person in that service. He came forward with tears streaming down his face.

A Mom who is working a full time job and going to school sat home Sunday overwhelmed with homework. She felt this tug to be at Church. She finally gave in and turned the online campus on. She was overwhelmed. She knew she had to come to the 5:30 service. She asked her sons if they wanted to go and they said yes. They all made decisions for Christ.

A friend of mine has been praying for his brother and sister in law. It started to feel like they would never come to Church. Sunday they came and went forward.

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It’s Not That Hard

Posted by on October 9, 2011 No comments

Signs of the Times: The Red Horseman

Posted by on October 7, 2011 No comments

In Revelation 6 we see the breaking of the seals and the consequences that follow.  A seal was a wax stamp with an official emblem.  When affixed to something, it was not to be broken until someone of authority asked for it to be opened.  Jesus, as the ultimate Authority, calls for the seven seals to be broken which allows the unrolling of a scroll revealing God’s will for the earth (Revelation 4-5).

We read that His will is for the earth to undergo a time of judgment preparing us for the coming of the Lord.  The first four seals allow the four horsemen of the apocalypse to bring God’s will to the earth.

When the first seal is broken in Rev. 6:1-2, the White Horseman is unleashed.  I believe that this represents the Church going forth throughout the world with the Gospel.  I will explain why I believe this in another blog.

The second seal brings the Red Horseman on the scene.  This is when peace will be taken from the earth until Jesus returns.

Revelation 6:3-4 (NASB)

3 When He broke the second seal, I heard the second living creature saying, “Come.”

4 And another, a red horse, went out; and to him who sat on it, it was granted to take peace from the earth, and that men would slay one another; and a great sword was given to him.

This corresponds to the second and third signs of the coming of the Lord found in Matthew 24.

Matthew 24:6-7 (NASB)

6 “You will be hearing of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not frightened, for those things must take place, but that is not yet the end.

7 “For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom, and in various places there will be famines and earthquakes.

The word nation is the Greek word, “ta ethne” which means “ethnic group.”  Jesus is telling us that racism will abound leading to wars over ethnicity. Ethnic groups want to kill other ethnic groups.

Kingdom refers to governments.  Jesus is saying that when you hear of wars and rumors of wars, that is the second sign of His coming.  When we see actual battles between ethnic groups and countries, then the third sign is fulfilled.

Some will say that we have always had war.  That is true, but the difference is the magnitude of Wars today.  We saw two World Wars in the last century.  The idea of World War 3 carries with it the annihilation of man from the face of the earth.  War is different now because governments can unleash nuclear weapons that cause destruction like nothing John the Apostle could have known in his day.  By the way, he does describe a nuclear exchange in Rev. 6:12-17!

Today the world is at war.  In 2003 there were 15 major wars being fought.  Today we are down to 8 and there are at least 50 major conflicts raging with hundreds of countries involved.  Adding to this are the ethnic battles that are affecting the lives of millions.  These now spill over into every nation because of the hatred of terrorist extremists.  We hear over and over of the atrocities that are committed because of a desire for ethnic cleansing.

A web site that monitors wars around the globe stated the following,

“Most of these are civil or “intrastate” wars, fueled as much by racial, ethnic, or religious animosities as by ideological fervor. Most victims are civilians, a feature that distinguishes modern conflicts. During World War I, civilians made up fewer than 5 percent of all casualties. Today, 75 percent or more of those killed or wounded in wars are non-combatants.” http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/war/index.html

In 1986, Pope John Paul the II, sought to bring a day of peace.  He spent millions of dollars and used every bit of influence he had to accomplish this.  He appealed to every religious and government leader he could.  He had Mother Teresa and an army of priests meet with every faction he could.  The day came and the fighting broke out anyway.  I remember watching him be interviewed, where he sadly stated, that he believed that peace had been taken from the earth and we would never know it again.

The Red Horseman is on the move.

24:7 message 2

Posted by on October 6, 2011 No comments

I am excited that this Sunday, we are going to continue sharing about our vision for 24:7. This next message will show How God empowers us to live the most amazing life ever. He can give us the power so that we can be true disciples of Christ.

We keep hearing awesome stories of How God used last Sunday to transform lives.

A woman who has been practicing witchcraft was watching online. She gave her life to the Lord and now has been set free from the darkness.

A couple who were separated were driving by the Church on Sunday night. They saw the service would be starting soon. They decided to come in. God moved as they heard the message and they came forward in tears. Now they committed to keeping their marriage and family together. They are also committed to being on fire for the Lord.

I am excited to see what happens Sunday.

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False Christs

Posted by on October 5, 2011 No comments

Jesus began His teaching on the signs of His return with a sign accompanied by a warning.

Matthew 24:4-5 (NASB)

4 And Jesus answered and said to them, “See to it that no one misleads you.

5 “For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will mislead many.

The first sign that He gives that His return is near is the appearance of false Christs. I am intrigued that we have the incomparable Christ and yet people will choose to follow a cheap imitation.  Jon Courson has said that there were no reports of Christs before Jesus.  Only after Jesus did thousands of false Christs appear. Why?  You can only counterfeit what is real.  You do not see counterfeit $200.00 bills because there is no such thing as a $200.00 bill, but we are inundated with counterfeit $100.00 bills. Jesus is real and there are a lot of counterfeits.

Shortly after His death, burial, and resurrection people claimed to be the Messiah.  Josephus, a historian for the Roman government, told of a man who had thousands follow him to the Jordan River where he proclaimed he would cause it to part.  It did not part and he was stoned to death. Another man came and announced he would step from the roof of the Temple and float to the ground.  He revealed his falsehood when he stepped off the Temple roof and crashed to the ground.  In recent history, Sun Myung Moon amassed a huge following of people who believed he was the Christ.  Today, Jose Luis has proclaimed that he is Jesus.  He commanded his followers to be tattooed with “666” and sadly they obeyed.

While these false Christs are easy to spot, we need to heed Jesus’s warning and not be misled.  When the Anti-Christ comes, he will mislead many.  Rev. 13:8 says the whole world will worship him.  That is why it is so scary to have false teaching being embraced by many in the Church today.  Things are written and taught that are not aligned with Scripture and far too many do not see the error of it and even defend this false teaching.  Universalism is proclaimed and many who say they are Christians applaud.  This veering from the truth is setting up for the Anti-Christ who will teach a religion without the uniqueness of Christ; a religion that promises peace by embracing all beliefs.  It is a counterfeit that many will believe to be the real thing.

Jesus said there would be many false Christs and there have been.  He said many would be misled and tragically we have seen that is true.  This first sign has been fulfilled.  Maranatha!

Crossroads is…

Posted by on October 5, 2011 No comments

I love the way Crossroads has embraced 24:7 and the Asah Shama! Here is a picture that speaks 1,000 words…


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