Category: Awaken From Spiritual Slumber

Genesis 5:28-29

[28] When Lamech had lived 182 years, he fathered a son [29] and called his name Noah, saying, “Out of the ground that the Lord has cursed, this one shall bring us relief from our work and from the painful toil of our hands.”

From Adam to Noah is ten generations. Lamech (Noah’s father), when his wife gave birth to Noah said that he would bring relief to the people. Lamech didn’t know how, but he knew something was special about Noah. Something was different about this newborn baby. Lamech’s spiritual eyes were opened, and he was in tune with the Spirit.

Noah ended up being the sole reason eight persons survived the flood. Survived the punishment of God upon sinful mankind. Noah not only fulfilled his father’s prophecy about him but he fulfilled being the tenth from Adam.

See, 10 is the number of covenant. It is Noah whom God makes a covenant with because of his righteousness and obedience. It’s because of Noah that God made a covenant with all on the earth that He would never flood it again.

Noah truly lived up to his name, the prophecy, and his place in his generation. Are you? Are you living up to what the LORD has laid out for you? Yes, it’s difficult because of distractions, temptation, etc. but is that truly an excuse? Noah lived in a time that was so evil and wicked, filled with temptations and distractions that God destroyed all of them except for eight people. Noah’s day and age was difficult as well, but his desire was to please God, not please man.

Today, ask yourself, who am I trying to please? Others? Myself? God? Whose plans for my life do I want to follow? God’s or man’s? God has plans for our lives, but so does mankind. But God’s plans are for our good and not our harm. Plans to give us  and a future.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Don’t Sleep On God’s Plans.

Who is blind but My servant, Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me, Or so blind as the servant of the Lord? ~ Isaiah 42:19^NASB1995

If you really take a moment to think about this statement by the LORD, it is pretty frightening. He is not talking about the blindness or the deafness of these heathens, or those who hate Him. No, God is talking about His own people, His own servants. These people who are supposed to be following and working for Him. The one who should have a close relationship with Him. But instead of closeness, we find distance. Instead of intimacy, we find lukewarmness.

Just because we claim a relationship with the Almighty God does not mean we have one. God’s people, the ones who should know Him intimately and serve Him wholeheartedly, are the very ones who are trampling the blood of Jesus underfoot and making the name of the Holy One something common. That’s why God asks the question in Isaiah 1:5, “Why will you be struck anymore?”

In other words, why continue to rebel after He has redeemed you with His own blood, and now you’re receiving just punishment, punishment that He takes no pleasure in. It is not God’s will that anyone perish, but all come to repentance. But we refuse to draw close to God because we love the pleasures of the world. Let us forsake evil and turn from lukewarmness and cling to God in pursuit of holiness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Pursue Holiness.

2 Timothy 4:1-2 NIV

[1] In the presence of God and of Christ Jesus, who will judge the living and the dead, and in view of his appearing and his kingdom, I give you this charge: [2] Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction.

This is Paul warning Timothy to always be prepared. See, Timothy was the son of a Jewish mother and a Greek father. Paul actually had to circumcise Timothy because the Jews they were going to only knew his father was a Greek. Timothy ends up being set up as a leader of the Church by Paul to ensure they don’t stay from sounds doctrine while he’s gone.

Paul’s warning was about keeping watch and not repeating the mistakes of his people. See, just a few years back the people of Israel denied and rejected the Messiah. They went as far as to have Him crucified by the Romans. Jesus came at a time they didn’t expect as a person they didn’t anticipate.

Jesus showed the severity of their spiritual slumber when He walked past the fig tree (out of fig season) and cursed it for not bearing fruit when its maker/creator walked by. This was symbolic of the Jewish people. Jesus, their God became man and dwelt among them, yet they didn’t see Him. They couldn’t recognize Him. They were spiritually asleep.

Paul was warning Timothy not to repeat their mistakes. Paul was warning Timothy to stay ready. See, we don’t know when the LORD will call on us to do something, to witness to someone. Teach a lesson. Share the Gospel. Or change our lives completely. God’s timing isn’t always our timing.

So, we have to make sure we are always awake. On guard. Watching. Praying. Seeking. And never sleeping. Regardless if we are in season or out of season. Regardless of whether it’s expected of us by those around us or not. Whether we have a platform or not. Whether we are wining in life or not. We are to be ready for God to call us regardless of the time or season.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Stay Ready.

¹⁸ Now the birth of Jesus Christ took place in this way. When his mother Mary had been betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child from the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ And her husband Joseph, being a just man and unwilling to put her to shame, resolved to divorce her quietly. ²⁰ But as he considered these things, behold, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “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. ²¹ She will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins.” ²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken by the prophet: ²³ “Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). ²⁴ When Joseph woke from sleep, he did as the angel of the Lord commanded him: he took his wife, ²⁵ but knew her not until she had given birth to a son. And he called his name Jesus. ~ Matthew 1:18-25

Mary and Joseph weren’t together at the time of her conception. They were simply betrothed to one another. Joseph, when Mary was found to be with child, was going to divorce her quietly, but an angel came to Joseph in a dream explaining the matter to him.

Joseph then took Mary home as his wife. Joseph could have easily divorced Mary and refused to believe the dream. He could’ve easily just written it off as his heart’s desires and hope of Mary’s innocence, but he didn’t. He awoke from his dream and chose to believe the words spoken to him. Why? I believe it was because he was actively awaiting the Messiah. He was actively seeking God’s promises, so his spirit man was fed and on high alert.

Though his revelation came to him in a dream, Joseph wasn’t asleep. Spiritually, that is. He was on guard. Watching. Waiting. Hoping for the Messiah. If an angel came to you to give you insight, would you be spiritually awake enough to recognize that the dream was from God? Or has slumber taken you, numbing your spiritual awareness?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Be Spiritually Awake.

²¹ This is the word that came to Jeremiah from the L0RD, when King Zedekiah sent to Him Pashhur the son of Malchiah and Zephaniah the priest, the son of Maaseiah, saying, ² “Inquire of the LORD for us, for Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon is making war against us. Perhaps the LORD will deal with us according to all His wonderful deeds and will make him withdraw from us.” ~ Jeremiah 21:1-2

Although King Zedekiah was not an openly wicked king who led Judah into blatant idolatry, nor was he violently hostile to God’s prophets, as some of Judah’s earlier kings were, he did continue the pattern of idolatry and disobedience established by the kings before him. His legacy was one of weak leadership and fear of his officials, leading him to disobey God. He feared people more than he feared God. And although he would not stand up for, nor defend Jeremiah, the prophet, he often consulted with him, and moved him to a better prison. He broke the covenant that he had made with Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, who had placed him on the throne, probably out of fear and intimidation of his officials. God considered Zedekiah’s covenant-breaking a grave offense against Him, as God considered it His covenant. Now, even though Jeremiah warned Zedekiah and his officials to surrender to the Babylonians so that they and the people might live, and they outright refused, God still let Zedekiah inquire of Him.

Isn’t that how it is with us? We rebel against God, wanting our own way, or because we don’t want people to think that we are weak, and having to depend on God. Sometimes we get so busy that we don’t pray as we ought because of one reason or another. Yet God is still a good, good God, not wanting any to perish, but to be obedient. Paul said in 2 Timothy 2:13 that “If we are faithless, He [God], remains faithful; for He cannot deny Himself.” That is good news for us, though we are selfish and unworthy of all of God’s love and goodness, still He chooses to lavish salvation on us, something that we cannot afford for ourselves, and He gives without measure, loves without ceasing, forgives without hesitation, and holds us fast, because of who He is— faithful, immutable, and unable to deny Himself. God is a good, good God.

Father, thank You for being so, so good to us, even when we do not deserve it. Even when we ignore You, You will never ignore us. Thank You for the free gift of salvation that You have lavished on us, not sparing Your Son, but giving even Your beloved Son as a sacrifice so that we might have life. Thank You Father for giving. Thank You, LORD Jesus, for coming and for dying for a lost and broken world, in Jesus’ Name, amen.

And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. ~ John 3:19

Darkness is not merely ignorance—it is willful rebellion against the light of Christ. Darkness is the domain from which the enemy operates.

In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul tells us that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. But the darker the night, the brighter we Christians must shine.

See what Jesus said, “but while men slept…” (Matthew 13:25a KJV). The men mentioned in the parable are the workers in the field, who represent us, the Church. Therefore, that verse could read like this:

But as the Church slept, the devil came in and sowed weeds amongst the good seed.

The Church has fallen asleep so the enemy wreaks havoc wherever he pleases. We have a duty as Christians. That duty is to let our light shine. To spread the good news of Christ. We have to put the enemy in check by standing up for the Truth of the LORD.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do Not Sleep.

In 2 Corinthians 4:4, Paul tells us that the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.

But the darker the night, the brighter we Christians must shine.

See what Jesus said, “but while men slept…” (Matthew 13:25a ^KJV).

The men mentioned in the parable are the workers in the field, who represent us, the Church. Therefore, that verse could read like this:

But as the Church slept, the devil came in and sowed weeds amongst the good seed.

The Church has fallen asleep, and the enemy wreaks havoc wherever he pleases.

You see, the weeds are the children of the devil, who masquerade as wheat, and the wheat is the Church.

But we will know them by their fruits. They will say things like:

“Oh, Jesus would be right there holding her hand as she gets an abortion.”

“Or Jesus would be a part of the LGBTQIA+ community.”

Or they express their discomfort…, to say the least…, with some of the things that Jesus said, especially His exclusive claims about salvation.

The first female priest in the Church of England said, “I sometimes wish Jesus hadn’t said some of the things He said.” And it was not said in a positive light.

These people are weeds that the enemy has slipped in and sown amongst the wheat that drain the light and fuel the darkness.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Grow As Wheat.

[6] My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge; because you have rejected knowledge, I reject you from being a priest to me. And since you have forgotten the law of your God, I also will forget your children. ~ Hosea 4:6

I went to a garage sale the other day where I met a lady who told me how nothing has come on the earth like the Tribulation in the book of Revelation. She then went on to tell me to watch the movie The Omen because that’s exactly how the world will end. All I could think was, nothing you said was right. Not one thing. I wanted to correct her, but the words never came out of my mouth.

I often think about how I never corrected any of her false theology and beliefs. Most of all, I think about how the Church gets its theology nowadays from Hollywood movies, instead of from the Word of God. The 70s and 80s beliefs were formed by The Omen. The 90s and 2000s beliefs were formed by Left Behind. And in both cases, people take the word and imagination of man over the Word and Wisdom of the LORD God Himself.

God said that His people were destroyed for lack of knowledge during the time of Hosea, this is still true today. We are perishing spiritually because we no longer read God’s Word but instead, we read fiction novels and watch fiction movies to learn theology. Why would we allow anyone other than God Himself to direct our path and formulate our beliefs? Jesus said anyone who builds their life on anything other than Him, builds it on sand and that house will be swept away when put to the test.

So, what are we to do? Put away all biases. Let go of all pre-formulated beliefs and read your Bible. Allow the Holy Spirit to direct you, teach you, and show you where to go and what to believe. Don’t count on man. Yes, go to church, but check the Scriptures to ensure that what the preacher is preaching is rooted in Scripture and not his/her own beliefs.

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Do Not Perish.

²⁹ Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. ³⁰ Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. ³¹ And He will send out His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather His elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other. ~ Matthew 24:29-31

Today is the first day of the Feast of Trumpets. A day that foreshadows the promise referred to by the  first Church as the Blessed Hope, the Second Coming of Christ. Jesus said that everyone on the earth will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. Meaning, He will not be doing this thing in secret.

And… did you also notice how Jesus started off the statement…? He said, “Immediately after the tribulation of those days…” indicating that the Church will be going through the Great Tribulation. The block of offense that causes theologians to stumble over is “definitions.” They don’t truly define the churchy terms and words that they tote.

For instance, tribulation is vastly different from judgment: Tribulation is the wrath of man and The Seven Bowls of Wrath is the wrath of God. You’ve heard it said that God loves us too much to let us suffer His judgment. Just look at Noah and the great flood, or Sodom and Gomorrah. God removed His people before His judgment fell.

And yes, that is indeed the truth, but the great tribulation is not God’s wrath, but the wrath of man on God’s Church. So, while it is true that God loves us, He does not necessarily take us out of tribulation, and the biggest reason is that the Church grows best under tribulation or persecution.

Did God take Peter, who was crucified upside down, out before that tragedy befell him? Or Paul, who was beheaded. Or James, who was run through with a sword. Or Isaiah, who was sawn in two. Or the Christians who are being imprisoned and tortured, suffering unimaginable persecution right now, today, in Muslim and communist countries… Does He somehow love them less… those who are being locked in cages and set on fire, or chopped up with machetes, or beheaded with dull knives? Does He for some reason love them less? Or those who are beaten to death? Or those who are beaten and left for dead but survive and are disfigured and maimed for life.

What about those? Does God love them less? Those Christians living in Places like North Korea, where Christianity is viewed as a direct threat to the authority of the ruling Kim family. Christians are arrested there, tortured, and even executed. The entire family can be sent to labor camps if even one member is found with a Bible. Or Somalia which is a strongly Islamic society where extremists consider conversions to Christianity a betrayal of Islam. These converts are hunted down by radical Muslim groups like al-Shabaab and murdered for their faith

Yemen is plagued by civil war and radical Islamic extremism, Christians are regarded as traitors and face severe punishment, including death, especially for converts from Islam. Eritrea is an authoritarian government and religious nationalist state is often considered the North Korea of Africa. Christians are arrested and imprisoned in shipping containers where extreme temperatures reach deadly highs in the day and unbearable lows at night, with no bathrooms to relieve themselves. Or they are imprisoned in underground cells with terrible, inhumane conditions that are almost intolerable. Libya is a country beset with anarchy and Islamic extremism and an unstable government, Christians, especially foreign workers and converts, are abducted, tortured, and killed because of their Christian faith.

So, again, I ask you what about those…? Does God somehow love them less because they believe to the point of shedding their own blood and gladly give their lives for the sake of Jesus and His Gospel? Does God so callously care less for those who are suffering, while we here in the West hide our Christian faith because we are afraid to rock the boat, or that we might offend someone? And not just someone, but those same ones who hate us, and would love to see what is happening to Christians in those countries, to happen to us here in the West.

Today truly put your beliefs to the test. Search the Scriptures and ask yourself, can I find my beliefs in the Word of God or do they favor your own ideas and desires instead. The time of Jesus’ return is truly upon us. It’s getting closer and closer each and every day. Are you ready for His return? Are you ready for all that comes with it?

Peace. Love. Go Forth and Prepare To Be Ready.