Take this for what it is worth. I have been praying about what to share next on this blog and have had in the last week several impressions to talk about Iran, with the title simple being - Iran. It was with that in mind that I was again doing some research today on the recent mass demonstrations as well as the explosive growth of Christianity there since 1979, but especially in the last two decades. However, God happened to put together something else for me to relate.
In regards to Iran I will note that it has a theocratic government reflecting its Shite brand of Islam and the government allocates massive funds and manpower both internally and externally to propagate Islam and to persecute any opposition to it. Partly because government repression is so severe, there has been great dissatisfaction with Islam among the youth. They have been turning to Christ in large numbers.
Some say the growth has gone from less than 1000 Christians in 1979 to 360,000. Then I began reading a number of over 800,000 and the last article I read suggested the true number is now about 3 million. And this is not just an economic or a cultural rejection of young people not happy with the way things are, an alternative designed to shock parents or society.
First, the potential cost for an Iranian Muslim to convert to Christianity could be imprisonment, financial and social disaster for the family and even death. Second, many have converted because they or someone in their family or village has had a dream or vision of Jesus, inviting them to come and know Him. And third, Christianity offers a relationship with God that is not fear based but grace based, an experience of love, hope and faith that God forgives sins, cares and has a plan for each life.
Today I came across a prophetic word for 2018 printed in Charisma Magazine from a Gregory Reynolds, someone I had not previously heard of but his message seemed interesting. He said that because of a vision he had he believed God was saying that this was (I think he was saying for the American Church) to be a year of threshing, where the chaff is separated from the grain. The process of threshing is not an easy one. The kernel gets tossed up, comes down and gets banged, then tossed up again, on and on until the wind (the Holy Spirit) carries the chaff away.
In other words, our faith is going to be tested like never before but it will ultimately result in a much stronger and effective Church.
I then went to Scripture to see if there was any conformation and here are the two sections I opened up to.
For our gospel did not come to you in word only, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction; just as you know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake.
You also became imitators of us and of the Lord, having received the word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia. (1 Thessalonians 5-6)
Receiving the Word in much tribulation with the joy of the Holy Spirit fits very well with what I was studying about the revival in Iran as well as what was sounding like an increase of adversity for our Church here in America as well. It also fits in with another article I read in Charisma magazine that was wondering if now was the time of fulfillment of a famous Smith Wigglesworth prophecy that said that in the last great revival coming upon our land there would be a combination of the Word (knowledge and application of Scripture) and the power (an outpouring of the Holy Spirit).
OK God I thought, let's make it a little tougher on You. I'm going to open up a Psalm. What can you do with that? So I opened up randomly to Psalm 85 and put my finger on verse 8.
I will hear what God the Lord will say; For He will speak peace to His people, to His godly ones; But let them not turn back to folly. (8) Surely His salvation is near to those who fear Him. That glory may dwell in our land. (9)
In the midst of all that is raging about us in this crazy world today the Lord will speak peace to us. He will knock the chaff away and not let us return to our folly. His glory will dwell in the hearts and in the gatherings of those who fear Him.
Oh, there is a third conformation that God showed me today as well. Yesterday Jackie and I both noticed that there were what looked like bean bags laying on the edge of our lawn by the street, the kind you would play corn hole with. How and when they got there we can only speculate because the snow just melted early this week. Jackie noticed this morning that a black squirrel had been working on one of the bags. This afternoon I went out to gather them up to be able to dump them in the trash.
The bags were red and blue. There were seven of them. Five were frozen, one was just the cloth because of the squirrel, and the seventh had been bitten open with grains of corn spilling out. As I headed back into the house it occurred to me that the colors red and blue and the content of corn could certainly represent our country. In a way the black squirrel represents our spiritual enemy and he had some success. But the promise is still out there that things will unfreeze and we will have seed that will produce a great harvest.
Sunday, January 14, 2018
Monday, January 1, 2018
Happy New Year
May your New Year's be blessed
May your heart find it's rest
May your spirit seek it's thrill
in the center of His will
May you give more than last
May you learn to pray and fast
Have a happy, happy, happy New Year
May your heart find it's rest
May your spirit seek it's thrill
in the center of His will
May you give more than last
May you learn to pray and fast
Have a happy, happy, happy New Year
Sunday, December 31, 2017
Welcome 2018
The swamp is a draining, mosquitoes are fleeing
ugly monsters are paining, restrictions are freeing
the clatter and chatter of doom saying gators
appears little more than the rambling of haters
Sweet rays from the sun poking holes in the canny
our old guard will run till they fall on their fanny
when bitterest chitter is exposed to the light
a fresh breeze moves through to set those thing right
The swamp is a draining, new land will appear
it might need explaining, I'll be round to cheer
there is more that's in store for the muck and the mire
one day we will plow it, such is my desire
ugly monsters are paining, restrictions are freeing
the clatter and chatter of doom saying gators
appears little more than the rambling of haters
Sweet rays from the sun poking holes in the canny
our old guard will run till they fall on their fanny
when bitterest chitter is exposed to the light
a fresh breeze moves through to set those thing right
The swamp is a draining, new land will appear
it might need explaining, I'll be round to cheer
there is more that's in store for the muck and the mire
one day we will plow it, such is my desire
Sunday, December 24, 2017
Wednesday, December 20, 2017
Late One Clear Bethlehem Night
Late One Clear Bethlehem Night
Ho / do you hear it / a new baby's cry
world / in deep silence / now lets out a sigh
He / who was promised / salvation is nigh
late / one clear Bethlehem night
Ho / on the hill sides / bold angels sing praise
say / to some shepherds / Immanuel stays
here / come adore Him / with hearts set ablaze
late / one clear Bethlehem night
Ho / do you see them / who traveled so far
there / in a manger / beneath a bright star
men / who were wise / saw hope's reservoir
late / one clear Bethlehem night
Ho / do you feel it / a true Christmas gift
yours / for the taking / a guarantied fit
join / with the others / in worship to lift
Christ / one clear Bethlehem night
Ho / do you hear it / a new baby's cry
world / in deep silence / now lets out a sigh
He / who was promised / salvation is nigh
late / one clear Bethlehem night
Ho / on the hill sides / bold angels sing praise
say / to some shepherds / Immanuel stays
here / come adore Him / with hearts set ablaze
late / one clear Bethlehem night
Ho / do you see them / who traveled so far
there / in a manger / beneath a bright star
men / who were wise / saw hope's reservoir
late / one clear Bethlehem night
Ho / do you feel it / a true Christmas gift
yours / for the taking / a guarantied fit
join / with the others / in worship to lift
Christ / one clear Bethlehem night
Sunday, December 10, 2017
Oh Sweet Jerusalem
Earlier this past week President Trump announced that the United States would finally move it's embassy to Jerusalem, thus officially recognizing that city as the capitol of Israel. This action is opposed by the rest of the world's nations because of the desire of Muslim nations to not only eliminate Israel but also for their desire to have Jerusalem be the capitol of an independent state of Palestine. Yet this it is a huge event prophetically.
Jerusalem is a key piece in any prophetic puzzle. It makes it's first Biblical entry (Genesis chapter 14) around 2000 BC after Abram defeats the forces of several kings and frees his nephew Lot. Prior to this God had called Abram to leave Ur and go to a land He would show him. He tells Abram to walk the length and breadth of the land promising that every place he goes would be his. The extent of this promise is much larger than where current Israel is today.
Coming home from the victory Abram is met by Melchizedek the priest king of Salem who blesses him. Abram in return gives Melchizedek a tithe of a 10th of his spoils. Immediately after this God makes an eternal covenant with Abram whom he soon renames Abraham, promising the land not only to Abraham but to his descendents as well. God warns Abraham that his people would be removed from the land for 400 years but it then would be restored to them.
A thousand years after Abraham the Jewish people did returned from their sojourn in Egypt, they conquer a portion of what God had promised, are ruled by judges and priests and eventually demand that God give them a king like the other nations. Saul becomes the first king and is replaced by David. It is David who defeats the ancient city state of Salem which is now known as Jerusalem and makes it the nation's capitol city.
When David dies his son Solomon becomes king. Israel expands greatly in extent and wealth and it is Solomon who builds the first great temple in Jerusalem. After Solomon dies the nation splits. The 10 northern tribes years later are conquered by the Assyrians who deport all the Jews and replace them with other peoples. The southern two tribes of Judah and Benjamin are where Jerusalem is located and years later it too is conquered by the Babylonians who level Jerusalem, destroy the temple and deport most but not all of the Jewish population to Babylon where they are in captivity for 70 years.
It is toward the end of this 70 year period when Daniel inquires of God as to the exact timing of the restoration of the Jewish people to the land and to Jerusalem. The answer to his prayer is delivered by the angel Gabriel who provides Daniel with the great prophetic scope of Jewish history which extends even to the last days.
Babylon is defeated by the Persians and Cyrus makes a decree allowing the Jews not only to return but permits them to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem as well.
A second temple, not as glorious as the first, gets built on the same site in Jerusalem around 349 BC It has a major rebuilding project that lasts from about 30 BC to 40 AD which makes it again one of the wonders of the ancient world but it is destroyed as is Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. The second temple period also represents a time when the Jewish people are not autonomous, being ruled in turn by the Persians, Greeks and then Romans, just as prophesied to Daniel.
In 70 AD not only are the temple and Jerusalem destroyed but most of the Jewish people are either killed or sold into slavery and scattered around the Roman empire. The city eventually gets rebuilt, there are many different nations or empires that get their turn to control the city, some which deny any Jewish presence at all and some which slaughter, depending on who is favored, any Jews, Muslims or Christians living there.
The walls of Jerusalem, so evident in any modern photo of the city, are not original but were built in the 1500's. None of the buildings that exist today were there at the time of Christ. The Muslims became interested in Jerusalem in the 600's but there were time periods when they, like the Jews, were not even allowed access to the city.
Around 30 AD Jesus, 40 days after He rose from the grave, ascended from the Mt. of Olives near Jerusalem into the clouds. He promised that He would one day return in His glory to rule the nations from Jerusalem. The early Christians expected Jesus to come back at any time but as time went on the association with the Jewish faith became less and less and the Biblical promise of Jesus physical return and the events immediately preceding it were not taken literally by the Church. The promise to the Jewish people of an eternal homeland also was forgotten by the Church.
The Reformation restored to the Church much of what was lost on many levels but it took a couple of hundred years before people began to once again consider what the Bible had to say about a Jewish homeland and Jesus actual return to rule the nations from Jerusalem for 1000 years. Sir Isaac Newton in the 1700's actually spent quite a bit of time researching Daniel and Biblical end time prophecy.
Christians who were studying Biblical prophecy on a literal basis began to understand that there were certain things and events that needed to happen prior to Jesus returning. The two major ones were that there had to once again be a Jewish nation with Jerusalem at it's core and there had to be constructed a new Jewish temple.
Think of the situation just 100 years ago. The backwater region of Palestine had a population of less than 100,000, mostly nomads, but because of the Zionist movement beginning in 1897 the population was now growing. Jerusalem was divided into 4 uneven quarters - Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Armenian and many of the Muslims living there had come from a variety of neighboring countries. The Muslim part of the city, or East Jerusalem, contained the holy sites, such as the Temple Mount, which were considered so sacred to the Jews. Jerusalem had been under the control of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years until December of 1917 when British forces took the city during WWI. The aftermath of WWI redrew the map of the Middle East and Jewish people were given limited permission to return to their ancient land.
So 100 years ago, unless you trusted that God would do what He said He would do, it still seemed very unlikely that there would ever be a Jewish nation with Jerusalem at it's core and a Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
On May 18,1948, against all odds, Israel once again became a sovereign nation. The next day they were attacked by the 5 surrounding Arab nations but prevailed. In June of 1967 there was another war and it was at this time that Israel took control of East Jerusalem including the holy sites. Although they later returned control of the Temple Mount to Jordan is was now theirs to give and theirs to take.
If you think about it, 1967 was first time since Daniel was exiled that Israel existed as a sovereign nation with full control over Jerusalem. And 2017, because the U.S., the world's most powerful country, it will be the first time that Jerusalem is recognized by the world as Israel's capitol. That means that time wise we are surely in the last days and it should not be too long before construction begins on a new Jewish temple.
Although I believe the Church will be raptured before that time we await the return of the priest king Jesus, who will descend from the same place He ascended. An earthquake will split the Mt. of Olives in two forming a great valley and the rebelling nations will be defeated. One day there will be a new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven but now we see her as a visible symbol that all God's promises are righteous and true and will come to pass.
Here is a poem I wrote about that city.
Oh Sweet Jerusalem
Oh sweet Jerusalem
you who stoned the prophets
are a stumbling stone
and cup of trembling
Oh dearest Corner Stone
you longed to gather your people
under loving protective wings
but they would not listen
Oh swift Advocate
you sent out sons and daughters
with singing and firm foundation
unto distant nations
Oh ancient Mt. Zion
your barren years are over
two thousand years waiting
the King is now coming
Jerusalem is a key piece in any prophetic puzzle. It makes it's first Biblical entry (Genesis chapter 14) around 2000 BC after Abram defeats the forces of several kings and frees his nephew Lot. Prior to this God had called Abram to leave Ur and go to a land He would show him. He tells Abram to walk the length and breadth of the land promising that every place he goes would be his. The extent of this promise is much larger than where current Israel is today.
Coming home from the victory Abram is met by Melchizedek the priest king of Salem who blesses him. Abram in return gives Melchizedek a tithe of a 10th of his spoils. Immediately after this God makes an eternal covenant with Abram whom he soon renames Abraham, promising the land not only to Abraham but to his descendents as well. God warns Abraham that his people would be removed from the land for 400 years but it then would be restored to them.
A thousand years after Abraham the Jewish people did returned from their sojourn in Egypt, they conquer a portion of what God had promised, are ruled by judges and priests and eventually demand that God give them a king like the other nations. Saul becomes the first king and is replaced by David. It is David who defeats the ancient city state of Salem which is now known as Jerusalem and makes it the nation's capitol city.
When David dies his son Solomon becomes king. Israel expands greatly in extent and wealth and it is Solomon who builds the first great temple in Jerusalem. After Solomon dies the nation splits. The 10 northern tribes years later are conquered by the Assyrians who deport all the Jews and replace them with other peoples. The southern two tribes of Judah and Benjamin are where Jerusalem is located and years later it too is conquered by the Babylonians who level Jerusalem, destroy the temple and deport most but not all of the Jewish population to Babylon where they are in captivity for 70 years.
It is toward the end of this 70 year period when Daniel inquires of God as to the exact timing of the restoration of the Jewish people to the land and to Jerusalem. The answer to his prayer is delivered by the angel Gabriel who provides Daniel with the great prophetic scope of Jewish history which extends even to the last days.
Babylon is defeated by the Persians and Cyrus makes a decree allowing the Jews not only to return but permits them to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem as well.
A second temple, not as glorious as the first, gets built on the same site in Jerusalem around 349 BC It has a major rebuilding project that lasts from about 30 BC to 40 AD which makes it again one of the wonders of the ancient world but it is destroyed as is Jerusalem by the Romans in 70 AD. The second temple period also represents a time when the Jewish people are not autonomous, being ruled in turn by the Persians, Greeks and then Romans, just as prophesied to Daniel.
In 70 AD not only are the temple and Jerusalem destroyed but most of the Jewish people are either killed or sold into slavery and scattered around the Roman empire. The city eventually gets rebuilt, there are many different nations or empires that get their turn to control the city, some which deny any Jewish presence at all and some which slaughter, depending on who is favored, any Jews, Muslims or Christians living there.
The walls of Jerusalem, so evident in any modern photo of the city, are not original but were built in the 1500's. None of the buildings that exist today were there at the time of Christ. The Muslims became interested in Jerusalem in the 600's but there were time periods when they, like the Jews, were not even allowed access to the city.
Around 30 AD Jesus, 40 days after He rose from the grave, ascended from the Mt. of Olives near Jerusalem into the clouds. He promised that He would one day return in His glory to rule the nations from Jerusalem. The early Christians expected Jesus to come back at any time but as time went on the association with the Jewish faith became less and less and the Biblical promise of Jesus physical return and the events immediately preceding it were not taken literally by the Church. The promise to the Jewish people of an eternal homeland also was forgotten by the Church.
The Reformation restored to the Church much of what was lost on many levels but it took a couple of hundred years before people began to once again consider what the Bible had to say about a Jewish homeland and Jesus actual return to rule the nations from Jerusalem for 1000 years. Sir Isaac Newton in the 1700's actually spent quite a bit of time researching Daniel and Biblical end time prophecy.
Christians who were studying Biblical prophecy on a literal basis began to understand that there were certain things and events that needed to happen prior to Jesus returning. The two major ones were that there had to once again be a Jewish nation with Jerusalem at it's core and there had to be constructed a new Jewish temple.
Think of the situation just 100 years ago. The backwater region of Palestine had a population of less than 100,000, mostly nomads, but because of the Zionist movement beginning in 1897 the population was now growing. Jerusalem was divided into 4 uneven quarters - Christian, Jewish, Muslim and Armenian and many of the Muslims living there had come from a variety of neighboring countries. The Muslim part of the city, or East Jerusalem, contained the holy sites, such as the Temple Mount, which were considered so sacred to the Jews. Jerusalem had been under the control of the Ottoman Empire for 400 years until December of 1917 when British forces took the city during WWI. The aftermath of WWI redrew the map of the Middle East and Jewish people were given limited permission to return to their ancient land.
So 100 years ago, unless you trusted that God would do what He said He would do, it still seemed very unlikely that there would ever be a Jewish nation with Jerusalem at it's core and a Jewish temple in Jerusalem.
On May 18,1948, against all odds, Israel once again became a sovereign nation. The next day they were attacked by the 5 surrounding Arab nations but prevailed. In June of 1967 there was another war and it was at this time that Israel took control of East Jerusalem including the holy sites. Although they later returned control of the Temple Mount to Jordan is was now theirs to give and theirs to take.
If you think about it, 1967 was first time since Daniel was exiled that Israel existed as a sovereign nation with full control over Jerusalem. And 2017, because the U.S., the world's most powerful country, it will be the first time that Jerusalem is recognized by the world as Israel's capitol. That means that time wise we are surely in the last days and it should not be too long before construction begins on a new Jewish temple.
Although I believe the Church will be raptured before that time we await the return of the priest king Jesus, who will descend from the same place He ascended. An earthquake will split the Mt. of Olives in two forming a great valley and the rebelling nations will be defeated. One day there will be a new Jerusalem that comes down from heaven but now we see her as a visible symbol that all God's promises are righteous and true and will come to pass.
Here is a poem I wrote about that city.
Oh Sweet Jerusalem
Oh sweet Jerusalem
you who stoned the prophets
are a stumbling stone
and cup of trembling
Oh dearest Corner Stone
you longed to gather your people
under loving protective wings
but they would not listen
Oh swift Advocate
you sent out sons and daughters
with singing and firm foundation
unto distant nations
Oh ancient Mt. Zion
your barren years are over
two thousand years waiting
the King is now coming
Saturday, December 2, 2017
Measure Once, Read Twice
I am very pleased to announce that my newest book, Measure Once, Read Twice: The 2017 Collection has just been published and is now available at Amazon Books (I'm still working on the Kindle version). It turned out great if I do say so myself!
This is a selection of 110 poems which reflect themes that are either spiritual, humorous or family centered. In order to make my work even more enjoyable I've included some commentary on each work.
The title Measure Once, Read Twice is a take off on the old saying - measure twice, cut once - intended as advice to avoid wasting material. The title represents taking an approach to reading poetry that is different than what we do when we read prose. To be more enjoyable one needs to spend a little more time with each piece (perhaps reading it aloud or going over it a second time) in order to better appreciate the images, the pacing and the rhyming.
I've listed the introductory price at just about ten dollars which is great for 6" x 9" sized, 171 page collection of pure joy. However I would love to send you a copy for free if you would be nice enough to post a sweet review on Amazon and/or another site like Goodreads. To get your copy email me at rlabarge.holland@gmail.com with your address and I will get one out to you.
This is a selection of 110 poems which reflect themes that are either spiritual, humorous or family centered. In order to make my work even more enjoyable I've included some commentary on each work.
The title Measure Once, Read Twice is a take off on the old saying - measure twice, cut once - intended as advice to avoid wasting material. The title represents taking an approach to reading poetry that is different than what we do when we read prose. To be more enjoyable one needs to spend a little more time with each piece (perhaps reading it aloud or going over it a second time) in order to better appreciate the images, the pacing and the rhyming.
I've listed the introductory price at just about ten dollars which is great for 6" x 9" sized, 171 page collection of pure joy. However I would love to send you a copy for free if you would be nice enough to post a sweet review on Amazon and/or another site like Goodreads. To get your copy email me at rlabarge.holland@gmail.com with your address and I will get one out to you.
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