The book of Exodus contains one of the strangest passages in all of scripture. As Israel camped at Mount Sinai, they were suddenly engulfed by thick darkness and an incredible, blazing fire. Out of the midst of these awesome elements, God spoke: "These words the Lord spake unto all your assembly in the mount out of the midst of the fire, of the cloud, and of the thick darkness, with a great voice" (Deuteronomy 5:22).
I'm an old-fashioned preacher who believes in honoring the sabbath. And one reason behind my conviction is that I was raised in a preacher's home, where the sabbath was honored religiously.
The sabbath began for us when we children were awakened early on Sunday morning for a full day in church. First came Sunday morning church, followed by lunch. And after lunch, we all had to take a nap, whether we wanted to or not. (Sometimes this seemed just awful. We had to lie down just when we felt full of life!)
Isaiah prophesies that God will one day rise up and shake the whole earth. The prophet writes: "Behold, the Lord maketh the earth empty... and turneth it upside down, and scattereth abroad the inhabitants thereof... all joy is darkened, the mirth of the land is gone.... When thus it shall be in the midst of the people, there shall be as the shaking of an olive tree..." (Isaiah 24:1, 11, 13). God is going to shake the earth as if it were an olive tree - till every bit of fruit falls!
Rest assured, if you are trying to walk righteously before the Lord, you are being tested! If fact, the deeper your walk with Christ, the more intense your testing will be. Scripture makes this clear:
"The people that do know their God shall be strong, and do exploits.... Now when they shall fall, they shall be holpen with a little help.... And some of them of understanding shall fall, to try them, and to purge, and to make them white, even to the time of the end: because it is yet for a time appointed" (Daniel 11:32-35)
Let me share with you what I believe God has shown me about His judgments on America — judgments that have already begun. Recently, while deep in prayer, these words rang over and over in my spirit: "The beggars are a sign! The beggars are a sign!"
You can believe the Kingdom-dominion people if you choose, who preach that Christians will subdue and purify this ungodly world system and bring back King Jesus to a conquered earth. As for me, I believe the apostle Peter who stood in the Upper Room on the Day of Pentecost and boldly proclaimed that Joel's prophetic last days had come.
No beating around the bush and no soft-pedaling. Let me give it to you straight. The sin that makes God cry is being committed daily - not by pagan workers of iniquity, but by multitudes of Christians! It is the sin of doubting God's love for His children.
In one way or another, we are all hurting. Everybody is in the same boat. Even the laughing, happy–go–lucky crowd is hurting. They try to hide their hurt by drinking and joking — but it won't go away.
Who hurts? The parents of a prodigal son or daughter. Millions of parents have been deeply wounded by a child who has rejected their counsel. Those loving parents grieve over the deception and delinquency of a child who was once tender and good.
"These were redeemed from among men, being the firstfruits unto God and to the Lamb. And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God" (Revelation 14:4-5).
My wife and I were having dinner with a family friend not long ago, a woman we've known for some time. Suddenly, in the middle of our meal, our friend began to voice the kinds of thoughts I've been hearing from Christians all across the country.
She said to us:
There are two elements of Jesus’ life that are meant to be part of our lives too. That is, we’re called to be holy and anointed. Some Christians might be intimidated when they hear this. “Sure, I live a moral life, and I do my best to be godly—but holy? And anointed? How could that happen with all my failures?”
Yet here it is, straight from Peter’s pen: “It is written, ‘You shall be holy, for I am holy’” (1 Peter 1:16, ESV).
