Encouragement

After the sober word posted earlier, it only seemed appropriate to post this encouragement from God's Word.

- Jonathan

Psalm 27
Of David.

¹ The LORD is my light and my salvation—
whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life—
of whom shall I be afraid?

² When evil men advance against me
to devour my flesh,
when my enemies and my foes attack me,
they will stumble and fall.

³ Though an army besiege me,
my heart will not fear;
though war break out against me,
even then will I be confident.

⁴ One thing I ask of the LORD,
this is what I seek:
that I may dwell in the house of the LORD
all the days of my life,
to gaze upon the beauty of the LORD
and to seek him in his temple.

⁵ For in the day of trouble
he will keep me safe in his dwelling;
he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle
and set me high upon a rock.

⁶ Then my head will be exalted
above the enemies who surround me;
at his tabernacle will I sacrifice with shouts of joy;
I will sing and make music to the LORD.

⁷ Hear my voice when I call, O LORD;
be merciful to me and answer me.

⁸ My heart says of you, "Seek his face!"
Your face, LORD, I will seek.

⁹ Do not hide your face from me,
do not turn your servant away in anger;
you have been my helper.
Do not reject me or forsake me,
O God my Savior.

¹⁰ Though my father and mother forsake me,
the LORD will receive me.

¹¹ Teach me your way, O LORD;
lead me in a straight path
because of my oppressors.

¹² Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes,
for false witnesses rise up against me,
breathing out violence.

¹³ I am still confident of this:
I will see the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.

¹⁴ Wait for the LORD;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the LORD.
 

Powerful Song

Scripture For Today

Psalm 91

1 Those who live in the shelter of the Most High
will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
2 This I declare about the Lord:
He alone is my refuge, my place of safety;
he is my God, and I trust him.
3 For he will rescue you from every trap
and protect you from deadly disease.
4 He will cover you with his feathers.
He will shelter you with his wings.
His faithful promises are your armor and protection.
5 Do not be afraid of the terrors of the night,
nor the arrow that flies in the day.
6 Do not dread the disease that stalks in darkness,
nor the disaster that strikes at midday.
7 Though a thousand fall at your side,
though ten thousand are dying around you,
these evils will not touch you.
8 Just open your eyes,
and see how the wicked are punished.

9 If you make the Lord your refuge,
if you make the Most High your shelter,
10 no evil will conquer you;
no plague will come near your home.
11 For he will order his angels
to protect you wherever you go.
12 They will hold you up with their hands
so you won’t even hurt your foot on a stone.
13 You will trample upon lions and cobras;
you will crush fierce lions and serpents under your feet!

14 The Lord says, “I will rescue those who love me.
I will protect those who trust in my name.
15 When they call on me, I will answer;
I will be with them in trouble.
I will rescue and honor them.
16 I will reward them with a long life
and give them my salvation.”

General Quarters

In the aftermath of the Obama victory, many Christians are wondering, "What now?"

I believe (as I posted the day before the election) that the key issue at stake here is the heart of our nation. I believe that the choice that was made was a true reflection of the attitudes of the people of our country. That is the thing that concerns me most.

If you read the post that I referred to a moment ago, you will recall that I believe that the Lord showed me that shakings are coming to our country very soon. As I prayed about the election and this prophecy yesterday, I believe that the Lord gave me additional instructions for His people that I will share with you later in this post.

It is a weighty thing to bring a message from God. I do it with a great deal of seriousness and caution. Indeed, I have been rebuked by the Lord even today for not having a heart and mind aligned with the message that I have to bring. I hope that my error has been corrected.

To set the stage for these instructions I would like to explain some things about the nature of what the Lord has shown me. First of all, I want to make it clear that the Lord is saddened by the fact that judgment is coming. He does not delight in it. Secondly, I want to say that the discipline of the Lord is not mean-spirited. It is just. It is severe, but it is for the good of His children.

Let's consider the state that our nation is in. We are a nation that murders millions of its unborn children every year. We have shed much innocent blood. We are a nation that has perverted justice. Our rulers accept bribes and determine public policy on the basis of who will give them the largest campaign contributions. Our nation is perverse in almost every way imaginable. It is impossible to escape sexual images in our culture. We are bombarded by them constantly. Our nation is consumed by greed. Our corporations do not care who is hurt by their actions or decisions as long as they are making a profit. Our companies exploit workers the world over to satiate their (and our) lust for more. We hold to a form of religion but deny its power. We have perverted the Gospel of Jesus Christ and substituted a doctrine of good works or amorphous 'spirituality' in its place. We have abandoned the Scriptures and we have been systematically evicting God from public life. Our nation is full of lies. Our media cannot be trusted to tell the truth. To make a long story short, as a nation we have broken every one of God's commands, and sadly the Church is as culpable as the rest of society.

God spoke to Jeremiah saying, "Shall I not punish them for these things? And shall I not avenge myself on a nation such as this?" (Jeremiah 5:9) Fearsome words. When I read the prophets I fear for my people because I believe that God is just. If He punished Israel He must certainly punish us.

Brothers and sisters, punishment is coming. I believe that it is coming soon. There is a very small window of time before it begins. I do not know the extent of it, but I know that it will be severe. Let me share with you the words that I believe that I received from the Lord.

There will be a grace period before the shaking begins. During this time President Obama will show his true colors. I will use this to give My people who have been deceived the chance to repent of their mistake and to turn to Me. This is their window of opportunity to shield themselves from the wrath that will be unleashed.

The things that are coming against America will be staggering. It will cause even those who love Me and know me to be dismayed. My people MUST learn to press into Me. They must begin to start devoting time to knowing Me NOW. This is the real deal. It is no drill. The only way that My people will not become overcome by fear and despair is by pressing in deeply into Me. Many will be scorched, but I will protect those that are Mine.

Pray fervently that I will place My people in strategic and influential positions around the President. I will reveal them at the right time. I will give them apt words to speak at just the right moments. Pray for them because these will be the most trying days that your nation has ever seen.

Tell My people to pray that President Obama will repent. Tell them to ask for a complete change of heart. Tell them to pray for those in the Congress who will stand against the measures that he and the others will try to implement. Pray for their courage and pray that they will trust me - even in the face of threats against their lives and the lives of their family members. Pray for strength for them to stand.

Weep for those who will be lost. They have chosen their doom, but how tragic it will be.

Guard your hearts. Cling tight to the truth that I am good. Never lose sight of this. The enemy will do his best to convince you otherwise.

During this time I will reveal the true hearts of those in leadership and those of the people. The fire will show what is there. I will expose things that have been hidden in secret. Carefully hidden plots will be revealed to broad daylight for all to see. I will expose this country's corruption and idolatry and the truth of it all will sicken the people. Then I will be able to bring healing.

When I have removed the stumbling blocks - when I have taken away those who refuse to come to Me and are determined to take others to hell with them - then I will bring an awakening to this land. It will be glorious beyond anything that you could ever imagine. It will not be localized like many of the outpourings in your land have been. It will be a great wind that will sweep through the entire nation simultaneously. It will not be driven by personalities or men - it will be completely orchestrated by My Spirit. Entire regions will be completely converted.

Once again, I pray that I am wrong about this - well, the judgment part. But I feel it to be true as certainly as anything that I have ever heard before. Please take advantage of this opportunity to seek the Lord. Dig into the Word of God and pray that He will drive its truth deep into your spirit. Pay close attention to God's nature as you read. See what He is like and cling to that. In the midst of judgment the enemy will lie to you and twist the truth about who God really is.

I have seen in my own life that the Lord's discipline is sometimes quite severe. It often lasts much longer than we would desire, but it is always for OUR best good. God does what must be done to heal us - and sometimes that requires breaking us first; much like a physician sometimes has to re-break a bone that is not set correctly. The process is painful but is GOOD.

I know that this is a fearful word. I know that it is not pleasant. We were not promised pleasant. We were promised that God would look after us and that He would cause all things to work together for good to those who love Him and are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28) He has seen fit to allow us to be alive at such a time as this. Be brave and seek your strength in Him. He will not let you down.

Sonnet XIII

On The American Election 2008 - A Sonnet To My King
By Jonathan D. Eller

My God, Your wisdom far exceeds my own,
And I draw comfort from this very thing.
For by Your great omnipotence You've shown
That You determine president and king.
Yes, You know all men's hearts - this fact is true -
And render unto them a payment just,
Rewarding men and nations what is due.
Lord, in Your goodness I have learned to trust.
Your discipline is sorrowful for sure -
Your wrath and blows seem ever so severe -
But chastisement is sent to make us pure,
And by its cleansing helps us to draw near.
My God, this nation's nothing without Thee.
Please cleanse our hearts and truly make us free.

November 5, 2008

Sonnet XII

My God – A Sonnet To My King
By Jonathan D. Eller

My God, My God, who loves as well as You?
Your patience is more broad than all You’ve made,
And though all men are false your word proves true.
Your promises, vast as the stars arrayed,
Speak goodness, love, and mercy without end.
Your power stuns my intellect and yet,
The helpless and downtrodden You defend.
Your heart’s inclined to forgive and forget
The sins confessed by children penitent.
But anger flares towards those who mock Your path
And scorn Your truth with actions insolent.
They, sowing foolish seed, invite Your wrath.
Lord, let Your kindness cause them to repent.
Please draw them to the Holy Lamb You sent.

October 27, 2008

Another installment in the poetry series!

Undone

I am utterly undone by this song this morning.

Amazing Miracle!

In Galilee an infant born prematurely was declared dead and placed in the morgue. Five hours later the mother asked to see her baby one more time and was shocked to find that the child was alive and breathing! According to the article:

"When we unwrapped the baby to see her, she realized it was moving. I began screaming and ran with it toward the doctors," he (the father) said.

She was then rushed to the neonatal intensive care unit,
where doctors are fighting for her life.

"I was in shock," the mother told Channel 2 last night. "I thought I wasn't hearing it right when they said she was still alive."

Dr. Moshe Daniel, the hospital's deputy director, said that in his 35 years as a physician, he had "never heard of such a case. It was like a medical miracle."

Like a medical miracle? Moshe! Come one, man. Get a little faith! For crying out loud, you are named after Moses! Let's not qualify, OK? Number one it isn't like a medical miracle. It IS a miracle. And two, there is no need to qualify it as a "medical miracle." Medicine had nothing to do with it. Even if there was gross negligence on the attending physician's part, a baby that was mostly dead isn't likely to have survived 5 hours in a morgue refrigerator.

Chalk this one up to God.

The Eagle Faery Nebula

Laminin... Who'd Have Thought It?

You can see a picture of the molecule over at Deborah's blog, Thoughts Along The Way. That's where I found the video.

A Body Smile

I just watched an incredible testimony of a fellow that had been hooked on meth over at Chris Elrod's blog. One of my favorite parts came when he described the feeling of being born again as being like a body smile. You have to check it out.

Happy Resurrection Sunday!

HE IS RISEN!

HE IS RISEN, INDEED!

This is the really good news. Not only did Jesus die, taking our sins upon Himself, but He rose again, conquering death and the grave. Now we share this hope of our own victory over death through His death and resurrection. And we now have the power to conquer sin in this present age.

Gone Home...

Perhaps you remember my post a little while ago about Pete? He was a man who came to know Jesus late in a life that had been ravaged by the devil. According to a post on Chris Elrod's blog, Pete got to meet Jesus face to face yesterday.

I think this testimony from an earlier post written by Chris is awesome:

Last week we took a large print Bible to him and he’s been falling asleep with it on his chest every night…he’s been reading it all day…every day. Our visits have mainly consisted of conversations about doctrine, what certain verses mean and what Heaven is going to be like. There was a question he asked me about Scripture that had me stumped…Pete said, “That’s okay…I’ll just ask God in a few weeks when I get there!!!” He’s in a lot of pain…but he still has a joy and sense of humor about him that just lights up the room.

It is astounding to me that God can overcome a life that seems wasted by sin and the destruction of satan and rescue that individual late in life. If that were all it would be shocking. But what is even more amazing to me is that in the very few weeks that this man lived as a Christian, God caused him to even bear fruit.

It is just like Aaron's rod. The stick was completely cut off, identical to all of the other 11 rods, but overnight God caused it to grow leaves, flowers, and almonds. Is there anything God cannot do?

I serve a RADICAL God.

Raging In The Storm

A group of my friends got together for church tonight at my sister's house. We had a great time. We enjoyed a very tasty meal, played and sang some songs, spent some time talking about the Bible, and spent some time talking to God. The awesome part about it all was God met us there.

I have to say that has not been the case so much for me lately.

One of the things that I try to do every morning as I am getting rolling is spend some time reading the Bible. I am on a daily plan that will help me to read through the Bible in a year. It is a good discipline, and I often learn things as I read it. I also like to pray, but prayer is one of the disciplines that I struggle with sometimes. My mind tends to wander, and I get off topic, and before I know it, I'm daydreaming about what I have to do that day or about something that I would like to do one day.

Lately I have been struggling to stay awake even to read my Bible. Not good.

It seems like there has been a lot of interference in my connection with God, and the bad thing about that is how I tend to respond to it. I tend to get angry.

One of my favorite poems of all time is The Collar by George Herbert. It is so typical of my life. I probably should have the last lines etched into my tombstone one day:

"But as I rav’d and grew more fierce and wilde
At every word,
Me thoughts I heard one calling, Childe:
And I reply’d, My Lord."

I hate to admit it, but I am a rager. It is frankly downright embarrassing to have to admit that I have a huge, glaring fruit of the flesh growing on the vine of my life. And just like Lt. Dan in Forrest Gump, the more the storm rages, the more I tend to rage as well.

Tonight as we were praying I found a sheltered harbor in the midst of my storm, and I thought of the words that I used for the title of this post. I have been raging in the storm. How foolish! What a waste of time, emotion, and energy - especially when there is a safe place reserved for me in God.

I must make it a priority to find this place in God each day. Without it I get tossed about by every trial and wave that comes my way. I begin to fear and to express that fear I turn to anger. This must change in my life. With God's help it will.

An Extremely Good God...

In my last post I wrote about how God can even forgive a sinner as heinous as an abortionist? Check out this story at Chris Elrod's blog.



Welcome to the family, Pete.

UPDATED:

Check out the follow-up to this story on Chris' Blog.

Not Your Every Day Occurrence

Today I was at the Wal-Mart off of Dale Earnhardt Boulevard in Kannapolis getting my some new frames for my glasses and helping my niece spend her Tooth Fairy money. As we were headed to the check out area, someone told us that they were evacuating the store.

Now frankly, it would have been easy to not believe the the lady that was telling us to do this. It wasn't even clear that she was a Wal-Mart employee; she was just saying it conversationally. There was no announcement or anything over the PA system in the store.

Well, we went ahead and left our merchandise at the front of the store and got the heck out of Dodge. A lot of people were just milling around the front of the store, and one of the stylists working in the hair salon wasn't even aware that they were evacuating.

When we got outside, one fire truck was arriving, but it really wasn't clear what was going on. We asked one guy in the parking lot if he was coming or going so that we could let him know that it was no use going in the store. He told us that it was a bomb threat and that he had seen the guy that brought it in.

Well, how is that for freaky? My niece was a little scared, but we were able to show her how God had helped us by getting us out of the store safely.

WBTV, out of Charlotte, has a report about the event on their website. It turns out that no bomb was found, but the police have two men in custody for questioning.

Anyway, looking back on the event makes me think that the store wasn't ready for this kind of event. There were a lot of things that just didn't seem to be handled well. Of course, there are a lot of things that I don't know.

I wonder if the store had somehow confined the suspects before they began evacuating the store? It seems to me that if they hadn't, the suspects may have figured out that they had been discovered when the store started emptying of people and potentially detonated up the bomb (which doesn't appear to have existed in the first place) or just melted into the crowd and out of the store in the midst of the evacuation. It would also seem reasonable that Wal-Mart employees would have been moving people away from the building. Sometimes people are kind of dumb.

This event makes me realize just how easy it would be for someone to perpetrate this kind of activity for real. We really take a lot for granted in this country - especially God's protection. I, for one, am glad that I have so little to tell of this story. How differently things could have ended up.

Good News!

My Grandfather seems to be doing much better. Thank you for the prayers, but by all means do not stop praying for him. He still has a long way to go before they will release him from the hospital. I am hoping and praying that he will be able to be home in time for Christmas. Ambitious? Yes, but is anything impossible for God? Absolutely NOT!