Looking for His glorious appearing! Titus 2:13

Looking Into the Word
Nov 24th, 2010
CommentaryArt Sadlier
Categories: Exhortation;Inspirational

 “And God looked upon the earth, and, behold, it was corrupt; for all flesh had corrupted his way upon the earth. And God said unto Noah, The end of all flesh is come before me; for the earth is filled with violence through them; and, behold, I will destroy them with the earth,” Genesis 6:12-13.

In a day when men had corrupted themselves before God we read this arresting statement in verse 8; “But Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”

The great question comes to us, why did one man find grace or help from the Lord? The answer to that question is, perhaps of all things, the most important thing we need to know.

The scripture teaches us that all have sinned and are under the judgment of God for our sins. Noah was as much a sinner as any other man on earth. “For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God,” Romans 3:23. Noah in his very nature was as much a sinner as every other man on earth. The first grace he needed was, grace or help for the forgiveness and cleansing of his sin. Evidently Noah was the only man on earth at that time who obtained that grace.

Why did Noah find that grace? The answer is found in Ephesians 2:8-9; “For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” Noah had in his heart that thing called faith; he had a heart for God. He moved in obedience toward God. That was the factor that separated Noah from all the other men on the face of the earth. That is the factor that has always separated men and still does today. Just a brief look at the record proves that. Compare Able with Cain; compare Jacob with Esau. Some men move toward God and some men move away from God. That does not alter the fact that all men are equally sinners and need salvation.

God chose and called Abram because he foreknew that Abram would obey the Lord. (See 1 Peter 1:2) We see this revealed in Genesis 18:19; “For I know him, that he will command his children and his household after him, and they shall keep the way of the LORD, to do justice and judgment; that the LORD may bring upon Abraham that which he hath spoken of him.”

We see this all throughout scripture; we see it in the lives of David and Daniel and Paul as well as countless others, both in scripture and in history. To be sure, the Spirit of God must move to enlighten and to convict and to draw these men to God, but that doesn’t alter the fact that there is a response in their hearts that is not found in the hearts of others.

May I ask you a question; do you have heart for God? Do you respond when He calls you? Do you obey when He commands? Look at Noah; it says of him, "Noah was a just man,"  "Noah walked with God," and "Noah did according to all that God commanded him."  Are these marks found in my life and in your life? To the extent they are, we find the grace of God in our lives. Grace is multiplied to us as we respond to the grace already given.

One ship drives east, one ship drives west, and the self same breezes blow.

Its the set of the sails and not the gales that determine the way they go.

Jerusalem: a Cup of Trembling and a Burdensome Stone
Nov 24th, 2010
DailyNewsexaminer.com
Categories: Today's Headlines;The Nation Of Israel;Prophecy

The prophecy of Zechariah Chapter 12 was written approximately 2500 years ago predicting a future day when the world's focus would be on Jerusalem:

"Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of trembling unto all the people round about, when they shall be in the siege both against Judah and against Jerusalem."

"And in that day will I make Jerusalem a burdensome stone for all people: all that burden themselves with it shall be cut in pieces, though all the people of the earth be gathered together against it."

Further in verses 7,8 and 9, the prophecy makes it clear that God will ultimately save the city and its people, but to the surrounding nations, the attempted conquest of Jerusalem will cause them great trouble, and to every nation pressuring to lift Jerusalem out of Jewish control, it will prove to be a heavy burden, and be injurious to them all.

This is widely regarded as an end times prophecy, and by examining the current geo-political and spiritual situation of the Middle East conflict, it is safe to say, the time-frame of this prophecy is upon us.

The words to Israel's national anthem, "Hatikvah" (The Hope) written in 1886 by Naphtali Herz Imber, express the powerful emotion and inmost God-given desire of the Jewish people, and the deep longing of the Jewish heart while living in exile among the nations, for their home-land. Praying, they faced Jerusalem, and never gave up the hope for their promised return there, as prophesied in the word of God. (Isaiah 11:11-12; Ezekiel 36:8-11 Ezekiel 37:21-22; Ezekiel 38:8, Isaiah 43:5-6; Jeremiah 31:7-10).

Today, millions of Jewish people have returned, and many are still making aliyah, as prophesied in the Bible, and the hope remains strong and revered by many as their God-given right to dwell in the land.

Hatikvah - The Hope

(English Translation from Hebrew) 

As long as the Jewish spirit is yearning deep in the heart,
With eyes turned toward the East, looking toward Zion,
Then our hope - the two-thousand-year-old hope - will not be lost:
To be a free people in our land,
The land of Zion and Jerusalem.

However, the Islamic community, the nations surrounding Israel (Psalm 83:4-8) the International community (Quartet: Russia, EU, UN, US) and the Vatican - all have a different goal in mind for Jerusalem. They would all remove complete Jewish control over the city and erase the Jewish victory of June 1967 (miraculous) 6 day war, and either divide Jerusalem, or attempt a complete conquest of it, if they could. The call of the world at this time then, is the attempt to lift this 'Immovable rock', but in return, to only find that the word of God is the unshakeable truth. The harm and pressure intended to attempt to change it, will prove burdensome for them. Jerusalem will be a cup of trembling to those who attempt to take it from Israel.

At the current time, The U.S. and Israel are negotiating a deal that would effectively bring both the Palestinians and Israel back to the table for direct peace talks, under the pressure of the allied International community with the prospect to bring about a '2 state solution' that would 'solve' the Israel Palestine conflict supposedly. The negotiations are stalled at the moment because Israel is waiting for a letter of promise back from the U.S. Obama administration assuring them that they will not impose a freeze or apply pressure on Israel as they continue to build in East Jerusalem. Israeli Government has stated strongly that 'Jerusalem is not a settlement it is our Capital!" Israel is contemplating a freeze in Judea and Samaria, as part of these negotiations being pressured upon them, on the condition of security guarantees, military gestures including 20 aircraft. Israel has stated previously that Jerusalem is not to be included in this round of talks. However, the letter back from the U.S. is slow in coming back, because the U.S. Obama administration does not want Israel to continue building in East Jerusalem. Jerusalem is a burdensome stone!

Israel is like a super-sign to the entire world that the word of God is the truth. With each passing day, as Jerusalem becomes more and more the center of the world's attention, it will become increasingly difficult for anyone to dispute the incredible accuracy of these ancient prophecies. Truly, the time to seek God is now, if you don't know Him. Zechariah Chapter 12 ends with the Messiah's prophesied return.

9"And in that day I will set about to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem.

10"I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem, the Spirit of grace and of supplication, so that they will look on Me whom they have pierced; and they will mourn for Him, as one mourns for an only son, and they will weep bitterly over Him like the bitter weeping over a firstborn.

~ Let us Pray for the Peace of Jerusalem ~ Psalm 122