ECCE

      We are to know the signs of the times. Jesus said that the generation that saw the signs that He had prophesied begin to come to pass, that generation would not pass away until all would be fulfilled (Mt. 24:33-34). The prophets of God wrote the Word of the LORD concerning the conditions that would prevail among God's people including those specific to the last days, and we see those same things today.      Jeremiah wrote: "My people hath been lost sheep: their shepherds have caused them to go astray, they have turned them away on the mountains...they have forgotten their resting place. All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers." (Jer. 50:6-7). People, including the Church, have forgotten the covenant. Shepherds in the Church are leading the sheep away by teaching against the Word of God. The Church d...

     Because of the worth of a soul, God sent His Son as the Lamb who was slain before the foundation of the world (Gen. 1:1, Rev. 13:8). The origin of the human soul is the breath of God: "And the LORD God formed (**aleph-tav/Alpha and Omega) man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul ." (Gen. 2:7). The Hebrew word for soul is nefesh meaning a living being, a spirit." The soul is made up of the mind, the will, and the emotions. The prophet Micah revealed the value of the soul: "...Will the LORD be pleased with thousands of rams, or with ten thousands of rivers of oil? shall I give my firstborn for my transgression, the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul? He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God." (Mic. 6:6-9). We can hear the cry of the LORD throughout the world, especially to Am...

      As I have been saying for many years, the Spirit is calling the Church to a 2 Chron. 7:14 repentance. In these last few years, we have seen many indications of this call of the Spirit. Kirk Cameron's documentary film, "Monumental" showing a monument constructed long ago to show the American people how to turn back to God. Rabbi Cahn wrote "The Harbinger", warning America not to fall into the same sins as scriptural Israel. The book "Wake Up" was published to bring the knowledge of the feasts of the LORD back to the Church, which has failed to observe them. All of these things have been meant to bring people back to God.      Jesus taught the multitudes in parables about the principles of the kingdom of God that the people of His time were able to relate to as dealing with their everyday lives. However, could these parables also have been meant for today? In Mark 4, Jesus taught the parable of the sower who went out to sow seed. Certain condition...

      David wrote in Psalm 139, "For thou hast possessed my reins: thou hast covered me in my mother's womb. I will praise thee, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made: marvellous are thy works; and that my soul knoweth right well...Thine eyes did see my substance, yet being imperfect; and in thy book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet there was none of them. How precious also are thy thoughts unto me, O God: how great is the sum of them!" (v. 13-17).      Here David was speaking of his own physical body. If the Lord cares this much about our physical body, how much more does He care about His spiritual Body in the earth - the Body of Christ? There was a prophetic word that came forth from Ralph Martin in Kansas City in 1977 that said in part: "Mourn, for the Body of My Son is broken. Come before Me with tears and sackcloth for the Body of My Son is broken. Turn from the sins of your fathers and turn to the ways ...

      This week, we marked "Juneteenth" as a national observance. Two years after Lincoln freed the slaves, a union general came to Texas to post fliers in order to inform those still kept in slavery by that they were free. Those who owned the slaves in Texas never told them of their freedom in order to benefit from their slaves continued free labor. Juneteenth marks and memorializes that delayed freedom. Our nation continues to be deeply divided over many issues: racial, cultural, political, economic, and more. God is both just and jealous and we have offended the Most High God with this wickedness.      The prophet Micah wrote of the LORD's voice that cries to the city. The wise hear and discern the source of that cry, yet the wicked continue in their wickedness in order to accumulate treasure through deception and theft. The prophet wrote of the LORD: "He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly , an...

      My father used to say, "Do as I say, not as I do."  I ended up following this advice as I grew older. We can find this idea in scripture also as we will see.       The Ten Commandments address a principle of parenthood: "Honour thy father and thy mother: that thy days may be long upon the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee." (EX. 20:12, see also Deut. 5:16 ). This commandment and fatherhood come with a blessing connected to them. Jesus assured His listeners that He came to fulfill the law and the prophets and promised that all would be fulfilled. He also warned: "The scribes and the Pharisees sit in Moses' seat; All therefore whatsoever they bid you observe, that observe and do; but do not ye after their works: for they say, and do not . For they bind heavy burdens and grievous to be borne, and lay them on men's shoulders; but they themselves will not move them with one of their fingers." (Mt. 5:17-18, Mt. 23:1-4). Jesus explained that ...

      Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks is approaching, which we also know as Pentecost, when the Holy Spirit was poured out in spiritual tongues of fire upon the disciples in the upper room. This event followed the Feast of First Fruits, when Jesus was resurrected from the dead. As it is written in 1 Corinthians 15, both Christ and those who are in Christ are first fruits of the resurrection (v. 20-23). I am therefore concerned with the words and behavior of those professing Christ. Who are those who are truly in Christ? Should those who profess to be in Christ be calling for violence, revolution and a new civil war as I have heard them doing?      How does Christ behave and speak? In Mt. 12, Jesus scolded the religious Pharisees saying: "O generation of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh. A good man out of the good treasure of the heart bringeth forth good things: and an evil man out o...