Mustard
A mustard seed. That’s it.
That’s the amount of faith Jesus says we need, and NOTHING is impossible. Not a reconciliation of a broken relationship ~not the healing of a body ~not the redemption of a lost child.
The Fifth Kingdom – Daniel’s Prophecies
Daniel’s statue prophecy and beast prophecy give us a solid prophetic framework for interpreting New Testament prophecy. The prophecy speaks of a fifth kingdom, a revived Roman Empire that will play a significant role in end time events.
Hugs
The power of a hug is a real thing. The exhale hug is my favorite. When is the last time you let Jesus hug you with a sweet embrace that makes you exhale?
Three Purposes of the Great Tribulation
The time between the Rapture of the Church and the Glorious Appearing of Christ is referred to by many names throughout the Bible. We, however, will refer to it as Christ did in Matthew 24:21 when He informed the disciples that there would be a tribulation, a period of intense suffering like the world has never known. Although we have seen tremendous death and destruction in this century and the last, with World War II alone killing more than 56 million people and the Indian Ocean Earthquake/Tsunami of 2004 killing more than 225,000, Jesus says that what will occur in the Tribulation will be nothing like has ever happened since the beginning of the world (Matthew 24:21). This Tribulation is mentioned 49 times in the Old Testament and at least 15 times in the New Testament. It will be a time of God’s wrath against the entire earth (1 Thessalonians 1:9:10, Revelation 3:10). John describes the nature of the Tribulation as being such that everyone from kings to slaves will hide in caves and among the rocks and mountains and beg the mountains and the rocks to fall on them and hide them from the wrath of the Lamb (Revelation 6:15-17). This wrath will last 7 years, and there will only be survivors because it will be cut short to save the elect (Matthew 24:22). The Church will not have to endure the Tribulation because Jesus will come back for the Church in an event called the Rapture (1 Thessalonians 4:16-17), saving it from the wrath to come (1 Thessalonians 5:9). The Tribulation is a terrible time, but it is not without purpose. It has three main objectives. DISCIPLINE OF ISRAEL The first objective is to discipline Israel for its rejection of Christ and prepare them for the coming Kingdom. Jeremiah 30 calls this time of testing, the time of “Jacob’s distress,” but emphasizes that Israel will be saved from it. During this time, God will chasten Israel justly and punish them, purging from them rebels who transgress against God (Ezekiel 20:38). Before it is over, two-thirds of Israel will be cut off and perish, but one-third will be refined and tested by God. This remnant will eventually return to God (Zechariah 13:8-9), acknowledging that Christ is their Lord and God will restore and heal their land. END-TIME REVIVAL The second objective of the Tribulation is to redeem believers from around the world. Jesus tells us in Matthew 24:14 that before the end comes, the Gospel will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all the nations. As a result, there will be an end-time revival, and multitudes will be saved (Revelation 7:9-14). JUDGMENT OF THE WICKED The third objective of the Tribulation is God’s judgment of the wicked, those unbelievers who hardened their hearts to Christ and refused to believe (2 Thessalonians 2:12). God will judge all flesh and punish the inhabitants of the earth for their iniquity (Isaiah 26:21, Jeremiah 25:30-32). In Revelation, we are told that even amid the wrath of God, these unbelievers will continue to curse Him and refuse to repent of their deeds (Revelation 16:9, 11, 21). Although the Tribulation is inevitable, we know that God wants no one to perish. He is patient and wants everyone to come to repentance. (2 Peter 3:9). God has decided where and when each man must live so that they will search for Him and find Him though He is not far from any of us (Acts 17:26-27)! Before Jesus ascended to Heaven, He told us to go and make disciples of all nations and He assured us that He will be with us always, to the very end of the age (Matthew 28:19-20). While we wait on Jesus’ return, we have work to do, a Message to get to the world!
Trust
It’s a word with weight. The word trust is one that shouldn’t be used lightly. Ever had your trust broken? Ever been the one to lose someone’s trust? Then you know the struggle it truly is to rebuild. Even with that in mind, we find ourselves trusting in some form every single day. We trust in small things and big things. We trust the car will start or that the chair will hold when we sit. We trust others and ourselves in daily and life decisions. Every. Single. Day. Yet, here’s the thing…every single one of them can fail. Every. Single. One. After all we’re in the natural world and every single one of us are flawed humans. The car may not start, the chair may break. Someone we trust may hurt us, we may hurt someone that trusts us. Things break and people make mistakes. I feel like this is where you may be thinking “Duh Shahla!” but stick with me. If someone asks you do you trust God, what’s your answer? If like me, your answer is ‘of course’. Then why does my trust not always remain with Him? Ever try to “fix” a situation? Ever think God’s moving too slow so you “help”? I have. In the moment I let my fear take over. And sitting in my feelings I made a choice that I thought was “helpful”, that seemingly “solved” the problem. Somewhere along the way I thought my solution was better than trusting God and His outcome. The dictionary’s definition of trust is beautiful when read with God in mind. “trust: assured reliance on the character, ability, strength, or truth of (God) someone or something.” He is One who is utterly and completely trustworthy. My trust, our trust, ultimately needs to be in God and remain in Him. Do I trust God? It really is a yes or no answer. If my answer is yes, then my focus needs to be on putting my trust in Him, letting it remain with Him no matter the circumstances. I share from a place of acknowledgment that I have had my trust broken and I’ve also been the one to break trust. I know the painstaking, heartbreaking, journey rebuilding trust is. It’s why I’m so thankful you and I are able to leave our trust with the One who is unfailing, who is in the details, whose Living Word is meant to be believed and walked out each day. Our trust in God never has to be rebuilt because He is faithful and unchanging. I look at Psalms 62:8 every morning when I sit in what has become lovingly deemed, “my prayer chair,” and even with a daily reminder in front of me, I have had setbacks when I took my eyes off Jesus. If you’ve had a setback in trusting God remember today is a new day and we can ask for forgiveness for misplacing our trust and ask for his help placing our trust firmly in Him and to let it remain with Him. There are a few simple things we can do to help us keep our trust with the One who is completely trustworthy. Talk with God about misplacing our trust, which unfortunately fosters our doubts and fears. He knows this and is one of many reasons to ask for his help and wise counsel. Seek reminders of his trustworthiness, read His word and if you’re a journal keeper like me, then read old journals. You may be surprised at how many answered prayers and the faithfulness of God show up in those pages. Listen to good reminder songs of His trustworthiness. Worship music is a key to keeping our trust in Him. A few suggestions below. Lord, thank you for being completely trustworthy. You know my heart better than anyone, the good and the bad. I confess there are times I let my feelings take over and take my eyes off You. Please help my heart remain steadfast in Your promises and my trust to remain firmly in You. You are my King, You are a Promise Keeper, may these words be reflected in my heart and in my actions. In Jesus Name. Amen. This week’s playlist: King Of The World Natalie Grant Promises Maverick City Music Trust In You Lauren Daigle
This Present Age
The Old Testament prophesied of the birth of a Messiah who would overcome the world, set up His Kingdom, and bring peace to all. Just as from a distance, two mountains are often seen as one, the Jews from the distance of the Old Testament viewed the Messianic coming as just one event. The Old Testament hinted at what they failed to glean: the Messiah would come to suffer and die and then judge and establish. Their mistaken perception of distant events became a stumbling block in believing that Jesus was their Messiah. As the gap of time progressively continues to narrow between prophecy given and prophecy fulfilled, the prophecy itself begins to become clearer. We can now see that the Old Testament texts that seemed to present the Messianic coming as one event were, in reality, referring to two separate fulfillments: one near and one far, separated by an unspecified amount of time. The time between the fulfillments is often referred to as a prophetic gap. This particular gap is called “this present age” or the “church age.” Jesus taught about the prophetic gap between His First Coming and Second Coming. In Matthew 17:11-12, Jesus said that “Elijah is coming and will restore all things; but I say to you that Elijah already came, and they did not recognize him, but did to him whatever they wished.” Here, he referred to John the Baptist, who came in the spirit of Elijah to preach repentance but was rejected without fully accomplishing his mission. Elijah will have to return to finish his mission. Jesus went on to say that just like Elijah, He would suffer at the hands of the Jewish leaders. That’s what happened. Jesus’ mission was cut short because Israel rejected Him, and this rejection necessitated a Second Coming. Another way Jesus alluded to the prophetic gap was during His reading of Isaiah 61:1-2 when he stopped mid-sentence, not reading the rest of verse 2, specifically: “And the day of vengeance of our God,” which refers to His Second Coming. (See Luke 4:16-21). The part He read refers to what He fulfilled during His First Coming. And the part He didn’t read refers to what He would fulfill during His Second Coming. Jesus knew about the prophetic gap. This prophetic gap is what we refer to as “this present age” or the “Church Age;” it is the age we currently are in. The Mystery Kingdom The word “kingdom” is used in many different ways throughout the Bible. The Kingdom of God refers to God’s sovereign rule over the entire universe. He created the earth and then man to rule over this earthly Kingdom. When man sinned, man handed his control over to Satan. God then promised a Messiah who would take back the earthly Kingdom and reign over Israel and the world from the throne of David. Christ offered Israel this Kingdom at His First Coming, but they rejected His offer. As a result, Jesus began to reveal a different form of God’s Kingdom that would intervene between His First Coming and Second Coming, a mystery kingdom that had been previously hidden but now was being revealed through Christ, the Kingdom of Heaven (Matthew 13:11). Jesus describes this Kingdom in the seven parables of Matthew 13. These parables address the progression of the Kingdom between His First and Second Coming. In Jesus’ Messages to the Seven Churches of Revelation, we discussed the letters to the seven churches that describe the progression of the Church during this intervening age. Revealed Mysteries: Character of this Age Not only did Jesus reveal the mystery kingdom to believers, but Holy Spirit also gave believers the ability to spiritually understand other mysteries previously hidden but now revealed. Some of these mysteries include the hardening of Israel so that Gentiles might be brought into the Kingdom (Romans 11:25), the mystery of the rapture (1 Corinthians 15:51-43), the formulation of the Church made up of both Jew and Gentile (Ephesians 3:3-9), Christ Himself and his relation to man’s redemption (Colossians 2:2, 4:3), the development of evil culminating into the man of sin (2 Thessalonians 2:7), and the apostate religious system (Revelation 17:5,7). These mysteries describe the character of this present age, an age that is like the valley that could not be seen from the distance, but nevertheless was there and has now been revealed to us through the Holy Spirit. Kingdom Parables – Course of this Age Jesus in Matthew 13 presents to us seven parables that provide the essential characteristics of the course of this present age. These parables offer further evidence that Jesus foresaw the gap between His First Coming and Second Coming. Let’s explore the seven parables: Parable of the Sower The present age is characterized by the sowing of the Word to which people will respond in different ways depending on the soil’s preparation. The seed is God’s Word and the soil, people’s hearts. Parable of Tares Among Wheat At the same time the Word is being sown, during this present age, weeds will also be sown among believers. Satan sows these weeds to deceive the Church, but these weeds will be destroyed by fire in the end. Parable of the Mustard Seed The mystery kingdom has a small beginning, but it will grow to significant proportions and include Gentiles. Additionally, believers and unbelievers alike will benefit from its blessings. Parable of the Yeast There are two interpretations of this parable. The first interpretation compares the yeast to sin and apostasy’s growth until they take over the world during the Tribulation. The other describes the yeast as the Kingdom of heaven that receives its power from the inside, spreading rapidly and changing everything it touches. Parable of the Hidden Treasure This parable also has a couple of interpretations. It could describe salvation as something that, once revealed, is so valuable that people are willing to give up everything