Of Course, Cats go to Heaven

My oldest cat, Sammy, was put to sleep tonight. He was calm and happy to sit in my lap. I asked God to send Little One and Tabitha, who he'd grown up with and had already passed, to meet him. Not only did He send them, but also Dids, who was my cat from years ago and had never met Sammy.

They waited patiently for the formalities to be over and comforted me while I waited. Jesus showed up too, kissing my forehead. When it was over and Sammy had exited his body, the girls greeted him. Christ then took them all with him to heaven.

While I will mourn Sammy's loss, I know he and my other cats are reunited. They'll be playing at Jesus feet until one day, I join them.

The Second Death

Rev 20: 12-15 KJV

And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were opened, which is the book of life: and the dead were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to their works.

And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell (the grave) delivered up the dead which were in them; and they were judged according to their works.

And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (A final spiritual and physical death.)

And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.

Rev 21: 8 JKV

But the fearful, the unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcereres, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death. (A final spiritual and physical death.)

There are several interesting things being said in these verses.

First off, where to the dead come from who are to be judged?

According to the God's Word, death, hell or correctly translated the grave, and the sea.

What happens to death and hell?

They're cast into the lake of fire, along with everyone whose name is not found in the book of life after they've been judged.

What is the second death?

It is a final spiritual and physical death.

2 Thessalonians 1: 8 -9 KJV

In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power.

Can you imagine anything more horrible than to wake up from death. Be judged by God. See His glory and Jesus, Know that the choices they made in life lead them here. Then to be sentenced to the lake of fire and suffer a final physical and spiritual death? No wonder there will be wailing and gnashing of teeth.

Whoa! Wait a minute...we're taught that they suffer all eternity. Do they?

Rev. 20: 10 JKV

And the devil that decieved them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night forever and forever.

Notice who WILL be suffering day and night for all eternity. The devil. The beast and the false prophet. Nothing is said about anyone else.

Yes, very aware of what tradition teaches. But the Bible does exhort us to study the word of God ourselves, not just absorb what is taught or been passed down via theology.

Study these verses yourselves. Do word studies on them. Find out what they really say. And don't be afraid if they rock your theology. God wants us informed what He really means. Not tradition. 








 

Greater

Greater is the One living inside of me, than he who is living in the world.

A very powerful phrase in the currently popular song, Greater by Mercy Me.

God has already won the battle. The devil lost.

Too bad most Christians don't live like it. 

The Watchers - Revelation, a Review

Recently I watched the Christian Science Fiction film, The Watchers, Revelation. It follows the adventures of two families as they encounter 'Aliens', the government's knowledge of these beings, and the final outcome.

Spoiler alert. I do talk about some of the scenes in the film. 

My reaction was, great, here's another film depicting aliens as demons. Sure enough, that was exactly what happened. The only interesting twists was that the demons were supposedly 'helping' mankind by supplying information about advanced technology. It was a repeat of what happened in Genesis and the sons of god who mated with human females. Only problem was, the demons who caused that particular disaster where thrown into a special place in hell where they'll stay until the final judgement. One assumes it was to keep them from doing the same thing again.

Second, bad acting. The only decent characters was the 'leader' of the aliens and the little girl.

There were some good moments. The explanation of supposed UFO's with their erratic movements that defy physics. The idea it could be angels flying makes much more sense rather than advances in technology we don't yet understand.

True creative inspiration comes from God. The little girl's creation of a  holographic computer monitor for a science fair project.

Great representation that science compliments  God's word, not destroys it nor replaces it.

Solid family values. The relationship between the uncle and his nephew is shown to be warm, despite a long separation and the mother being protect of of her child.

Government knowledge of these beings. Believe it or not, the US Gov has a contingency plan for alien invasion. One wonders how much our leaders actually know about the spiritual side and are mistaking them for X-tees. (They don't have one for a potential ice age, which is much more likely to happen since is has in the recent past. 1400-1500 to 1850. It was called the little ice age.)

Nice examples of angels, both fallen and those still serving God. The sword fight over the little girl with flaming swords is probably one of the best scenes. 

Over all reaction, good for one viewing only. Not something I'd make of a point of watching very often. Happy I only paid $5 for it. 

Citizens and the Book of Life

Phillipians 4:8

With other fellow-laborers, whose names are in the book of life.

According to Bible Manners and Customs it was custom, sort of followed in today's society, to have registries with the names of their citizens, both those born there and those adopted. Heaven is shown the same way. There is a book with the names of God's children in it. It's referenced in Revelations as well during the final judgement called the Book of Life.

In the latter, those whose names are not found, are thrown into a lake of fire, but only after God has judged them according to their deeds. What type of judgement is not really clear. However, according to the ancient customs when one lost their citizenship, they're name is erased from the registry. Makes one wonder if they will be forgotten for all time by those who survive and dwell with God.

P. 463

God shall supply

But my god shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

A verse to live by, even in these still unsteady times.

Dancing before the Lord

2 Samuel 6: 14-23.

Everyone knows the story of King David dancing before the Lord in the streets clothed only in a linen ephod, which was a priestly garment, or a type of girdle.  And David danced with all his might.

They brought the ark of covenant back to Israel & made sacrifices.

Now, his wife Michal, Saul's daughter, saw this and told him how it was unbecoming a king and how dare he!

He told her straight out is was before God who had chosen him. He basically said, I will be honored in my own house. And Michal, never had a child. Which was a very bad fate of any married woman.

This situation reminds me of today's churches. The more conservative think dancing before God is a horrible thing, while more charismatic churches encourage it. And the latter is right, considering the above example. And those who do believe in dancing, leave the more conservative and go find a place where they can worship fully.

One wonders, what will be the reaction of the conservatives when they reach heaven and see all the dancers in God's throne room....

 

Song, Dance and Playing Instruments

Psalms 33: 1-3. KJV

Rejoice in the Lord, O ye righteous; for praise is comely for the upright.
Praise the Lord with harp: sing unto him with the psaltery and an instrument with ten strings.
Sing unto him a new song; play skillfully with a loud noise.

The importance of worship with song and instruments is mentioned many times in the book of Psalms, yet in today's churches, it's simply a prelude to the teaching. Something to be hurried through. Not savored or enjoyed. Or done instead of a pastor preaching or teaching.

During this month, we'll be studying song, dance and the playing of instruments and how, in God's eyes, they are VERY important.

God Loves You

God loves you. A simple message. A true one. There are no conditions. He always forgives you. He always forgets what you did wrong. He longs to see you and will rejoice when you dance in heaven. Or on Earth. He longs for your worship. For your time. Just to be with you. God loves you!

What is God?

What is God?

The Bible says God is spirit and love.

Also, it says man is made in His image.

So what is man?

Love and spirit.

Question is, if man is made in God's image, love and spirit, is it possible He made other beings in His image as well?

A good question to ponder. 

In the End

 The Bible instructs us to love God with all our heart, mind, soul, strength and love your neighbor as ourselves.

It's hard to love other people when they cuss at you, or flip you off on the highway, or cut in front of you in the grocery store, or...the list goes on.

 Instances where this is particularly difficult are customer service positions, when you're just doing your job and the customer is being unreasonable. Have to wonder why there aren't classes on how to be a good customer, instead of the poor clerk being ragged on , and underpaid, about something they have no control over.

And then employers wonder why their turnover is high?

Love your neighbor as yourself. Difficult in today's out for myself society. Impossible? Some days. Other days, just release them to God. It'll keep you from being upset with them and in the end, isn't it better to keep yourself positive and happy?

What's Best

Our society has a bad habit of thinking that this person, or that one, knows what is best for everyone.

Really?

I see this in the workplace, in congress and even the highest office of the land.

The only person who truly knows what is best for us is God. He has a plan for our life. He trumps everyone.

Bear that in mind the next time you think, 'If they'd just do what I want, everything would be fine.'

Waiting on God's Timing

Waiting on God's timing can be frustrating, but also ultimately rewarding. Look how long His children waiting in captivity in Egypt before they were freed - four hundred years. Look how long it took until Jesus was born. More generations than we can count. Look how long we've waited for Christ's return - we're still waiting.

We have to trust that God's plan is perfect, even when we think He's crazy. Or wondering what's taking so long. He knows so much more than we do about what is good for us.

So wait we do. 

Tear Bottles

Psalms 56:8 : Thou tellest my wanderings: put thou my tears into they bottle: are they not in thy book?

This is an ancient Oriental custom where all righteous tears are saved in a bottle and buried with the person as proof for God. All other types of tears are not saved. However, in this verse, it's saying the proof is not needed and that His children's good works are recorded in God's book.
 
Light through an Eastern Window by Bishop K.C. Pillai pp.115-116.

You are His

Is your relationship with God intimate? Is He the first person you think of and speak to in the morning and your last thought and goodnight?

Do you take Him with you throughout your day? Does He stand beside you while you put dishes in the dishwasher? Is He ever present at work? Do you release your Children and Spouse to him when they're away from you? Or even while they're with you?

Do you trust Him to the point that no matter what happens, you know He's going to catch you?

Beloved, He holds you in the palm of His hand. You are precious and wonderful to Him. His love for you is everlasting and He longs for the time you will be Him forever and forever.

And when that time comes...will you run and throw yourself in his arms? Or slink away in shame because your life did not glorify Him or you think you're not worthy?

Child, there will be dancing in heaven before His throne and a feast such as we have never seen.

He chose you, before the foundation of the world. He knew you would be His and believe in His son, Jesus Christ.

You are His. Rejoice. Dance. Enjoy.

Surprise Avenues

Be careful what you pray for. You never know what doors God will open up and often, they'll surprise you.

As humans, we tend to think along traditional avenues when trying to solve a problem. God, on the other hand, will take his children off the beaten path, and provide in a way one might not often think of. It puzzles the world, and amazes His followers.

Great example, The Hiding Place. Both a book and a film, it shows how God took care of His children in one of the worst and darkest times of human history.

Best quote from it: There is no pit that is so deep, that God is not deeper still.

So don't look at adversity and dark times in your life as 'God has deserted me'. Instead, hold onto your heavenly father's hand and trust Him to be with and lead you through them.

Is today your last?

Who do you live for every day?

God?

Yourself?

Do you live every day as if it's your last?

It could be.

All it takes is one inattentive driver having a bad day and Bam!

Are still things you'd like to accomplish for God's glory?

Then do it!

Don't wait!!!!

Later...never...ever...comes.

Every day is a gift.

Live it to the fullest.

Taken by Surprise

God has an odd sense of timing. I'm standing in the middle of Artist Alley during AnomalyCon and He drops both a vision and an update about what my future holds. He startled me and I blurted something, in the presence of other people that went along the lines of , will you stop telling me things, etc. Later, I apologized.

I like that God tells me things. It's just that my heavenly Father has an odd sense of timing. Or maybe He just knows that is when I'll be listening. Or maybe, in that instance, it was a witness to someone else with what is possible when you believe in God.

No, I won't share the message. Not yet. But I know what is coming and I couldn't be more excited!

God's Got This

When you feel like you're dropping off the edge of the Earth.
When you think it can't get any worse.
When you wonder what you could possibly have done that was so wrong.
Remember.
God's Got This.

You are His masterpiece.
You are his precious and beloved Child.
You are an heir God and a joint heir with Jesus Christ.
You are already sitting on the right hand of God.
You are healed. Physically. Emotionally. Mentally.
You live more than abundantly.
You are taken care of via His riches in Glory by Christ Jesus.
You can do all the things Christ did and even more because Jesus sits in heaven.
You can speak in Tongues, speak forth prophecy, discern spirits, have words of knowledge and wisdom. And that's only the beginning of the spiritual gifts!
You name is written in the Lamb's book.
You will be raised from the dead or changed when Christ returns.
You're going to get to meet all those wonderful people you've read about in the Bible.
You get to live in heaven - forever.

So Remember.
God's Got This. 

Jewish Feasts and Miracles

I'm a loyal follower of Sid Roth's - It's Supernatural. The guests are, as a rule, interesting, and reminds all of us that God's Kingdom is more than just going to church.

Last week, his guest was Perry Stone. He spoke of the Jewish feasts and asked a very good question - why don't modern day Christians celebrate them? After hearing what he has uncovered about them, we should be.

This week, his guest is Aliss Cresswell. She runs a shop in England and advertises miracles and interrupting dreams. Her stories are fascinating about those who have been healed and have accepted Christ.

If curious, you can watch these programs at: http://sidroth.org/television/tv-archives.

God is alive and well today, ready and willing to perform miracles. Do you believe He can?