Wrath and the Revealing of the Sons of God

March 28, 2009 By robert 5 Comments
By Robert
Is America under God’s wrath? If it were, what would that mean exactly? Is there something more that God has in the final chapters of this present age than vengeful indignation?
Wrath (Merriam-Webster)
1: strong vengeful anger or indignation
2: retributory punishment for an offense or a crime: divine chastisement
I believe rightly dividing the word of God on the subject of God’s wrath is very important. (2 Tim.2:15) Wrath is a strong word- it has nothing to do with discipline; it is about punishment and retribution or payback. There is intense anger and zero mercy. When people preach that America is under God’s wrath are they saying:
  • God has gotten His feelings hurt, can no longer contain Himself and so is pouring out His Judgment?
  • Are they saying He is absolutely sick and tired of His people simply not obeying Him and committing abortion and sexual sin?
  • Did the level of sin take God by surprise as though He did not know the future or that people would not eventually get it together? H
  • Can God who walks in love, walk in wrath toward others?

Is this what they’re saying?

Luke 9:54-55 And when His disciples James and John saw this, they said, “Lord, do You want us to command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, just as Elijah did?” But He turned and rebuked them, and said, “You do not know what manner of spirit you are of.”

In these verses, we see the disciples having an image of Father God as being punitive-one who’s looking to inflict punishment. Jesus never emulated this type of character, but somewhere they had to have learned this father concept. Someone, at some point in their lives, must have communicated to them a harsh, angry authority. I believe that those in the church today who are saying that America is finished, that it will become a third-world nation, that it will be completely destroyed and those that escape will be the ones who return to Europe and Africa, are simply hurt little boys in grown-up bodies. To have the view that God is angry and looking to punish America for all the sin here, simply means that they themselves probably grew up wounded by a punishing, vindictive authority rather than a loving, disciplining father-type. Instead of seeking Him to find healing for their wounds, they have formed a whole theology around their wounding.

It does say in Romans 1:18 that the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who suppress the truth in unrighteousness. Notice the wrath is toward man’s actions of ungodliness and unrighteousness, not man himself. Yet when I have heard people preach this, I have almost never heard it presented in this way. It is usually presented in a way that produces fear in people. I believe people are the most precious and valuable thing in the sight of God. He sent His only Son to die on the cross for people. I believe God hates sin, not people. He hates sin because sin hurts what He cares about the most.

We have all seen the popular books and movies about a pre-tribulation rapture and then God letting the earth really have it. What if God’s plan was to make salvation available to the uttermost, to the very end?

Romans 8:19 says the whole world is waiting on the manifestation of the sons of God-the time when God’s people will embrace full sonship, full submission based on self-sacrificial love. What has the world seen up until now? They have seen the busyness of spiritual orphans, striving to get an inheritance rather than resting in the love and provision they already have from their Father.

What if the book of Revelations is God’s love letter to the earth? What if the apocalypse is where God finally puts an end to the dominance of sin so people would quit being hurt by it? What if it was also God’s plan to not only be extremely passionate in the fire of His love to stop sin, but to also use that same fire to give people every possible and conceivable chance to be saved and healed?

I do not know exactly how the end times will play out. Personally, I do not believe anyone does. I think it will all come together and make sense only as we get close enough to it. But I do believe Jesus is coming back for a victorious church as opposed to rapturing out a defeated one just before His indignation falls.

I believe we are slowly coming into the most exciting times the Body of Christ has ever seen. I am already seeing people healed from wounding, sometimes in a single ministry session, which used to take 15 years to deal with. I believe this is just the barest beginnings of the grace that will be released in these last days that will cause us to: arise, shine; for our light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon us. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon us, and his glory shall be seen upon us. And the Gentiles shall come to our light, and kings to the brightness of our rising (Isaiah 60:1-3).

Filed Under: Agape Reformation, Christianity, Father's Love Tagged With: Father's Love

It’s A Small World

March 22, 2009 By cyndi 1 Comment

By Cyndi Hartzell

                A friend and I were laughing together the other day over how similar both of our lives are. It seems that most of what one of us is going through-with our parents, our families, our finances-the same thing is happening to the other. We just figured, “The names have been changed to protect the innocent.” It made for a good laugh and a time of encouragement, knowing that neither one of us was alone in our situations. It was nice to know someone else is going through the same thing, feeling the same way as me. We are all human beings and have a lot in common with each other.  

                I remember the first time this revelation of the similarities of the human race came to me.  We were missionaries living in the Dominican Republic, and once a week I and another lady, Chana, would go house to house visiting the ladies of the village. It was a great way for me to work on my Spanish and to get to know all the ladies from the church. What I didn’t expect, though, was to see and hear all the similarities of their lives to mine. I specifically remember sitting in an old wooden chair at Mati’s house, seeing her few clothes hanging on nails above the bare mattress in the other room that had no door, and her two young daughters, naked, running in and out of the house. I looked around at the cement floor and the exposed light bulb on the ceiling, and thought to myself, we are so different. But as we talked about her kids, the struggles with finding a job, and other things she was worried about, I realized she was not so different than me after all.

                Many of us Floridians have been to Disney World countless times, and at one time or another we’ve gone through the ride “it’s a small world”, where you sit in a boat and travel the world, seeing costumed dolls of children from every continent playing, dancing, and singing the song “it’s a small world” in five different languages. The little characters are dressed in their cultural attire and in scenes portrayed with landmarks or famous icons from their native country.  The point of the ride is to dissolve boundaries and reveal how we, as humans, are so diversified, yet so similar. In the limited traveling I have done, I have found this to be so true.

                It seems like the more countries I travel to, the smaller the world is getting. The sweet ladies in Kolkata, the precious Quichua Indians of Ecuador, the fun-loving Filipinos, the intense worshippers of Cambodia, and the close Bulgarian families-we all look, speak, and dress differently, but are all part of the same human race. Yes, there are extreme cultural differences sometimes, and we may think we have nothing in common with certain people. But I believe if we could go into their homes, into their private lives and hear what’s really on their hearts as men, women, husbands, wives, fathers, and mothers, I think we would see that they are just like us. We’re all people, made in the image of God.

                So we’re the same, yet different. I find there’s something comforting in knowing that each of us is unique, yet part of a bigger whole. We’re never truly alone in our feelings. Somewhere there’s somebody who’s in the same situation as I am, who feels the same way I do. God has such an infinite supply of designs for every face of every race, yet in our hearts, we have the same basic needs and wants. Amazing! It really is a small world after all.

Filed Under: Christianity, Nations

Feeding Our Spirit

March 13, 2009 By cyndi 3 Comments

By Cyndi           

               As I walked on the beach with my bare feet on the soft sand, enjoying the warm sunshine of spring in Florida, I could feel my body slide into a more relaxed mode and my spirit lift within me. Just the sound of waves crashing on the shore and seagulls crying made me forget, at least for a little while, about all of the challenges around me right now. The stress seemed to whiff off my shoulders with the cool gentle breeze that was blowing. My favorite places to be are always out in nature. I feel much more at peace with the world and much closer to the Lord there.

                My husband and son have dubbed me an “outside mom”, as opposed to an “inside mom”, because I prefer to be outdoors rather than indoors. Even when I have visited up north in the wintertime, I can’t help but want to take a walk in the snow, knocking down icicles off of trees and stomping on frozen places on the sidewalk. For me, when I’m outside in nature, I feel refreshed, revitalized, and rejuvenated.

                Nature has the capability to help us relax and get refreshed because it feeds our spirit, it nurtures us. Its natural state tends to bring us back to our natural state-at peace with God. In Mark 6:31, Jesus tells His disciples to “come away by yourselves to a lonely place and rest a while.” So should we, yet, in the hurried lives we live in, it’s sometimes hard to find a lonely place-a quiet, solitary place to calm our spirits and regroup.  But finding this place is the very thing that will strengthen us to continue at our daily pace. God wants us to have peace in the midst of the chaos around us (John 14:27), and hope when there seems to be no hope (Romans 15:13). Communing with God is the path that leads to peace, joy, and hope; He has those qualities to impart to us. Nature, to me, is like God’s backyard; it’s His creation. When I’m out in nature, I’m with Him. Whether it’s a waterfall, a butterfly, a rose, or the ocean, I can see His incredible design and handiwork in all of them. And as I see His handiwork, I feel His presence-His Spirit touching mine. When I take the time to find a solitary place, I get rested and de-stressed.

                The Psalms have numerous references to nature, reflecting His glory, His majesty, His presence. “As the mountains are round about Jerusalem, so the Lord is round about His people,” reads Psalm 125:2.  If things are pretty stressful around you, maybe you need some communion with God-to go away by yourself and rest a while. Go for a walk on the beach, sit on a park bench, find a quiet place outside or with whatever nature is close to you, and feed your spirit.

Filed Under: Christianity, Rest

Simplicity–A Vision

March 8, 2009 By robert 3 Comments

By Robert

2 Corinthians 1:12 (paraphrased)-”Our source of rejoicing is the testimony of our conscience, that we have conducted ourselves in simplicity and sincerity, not by our own efforts but by God’s grace.” The word simplicity in the Greek has a double meaning: first-no dissimulation, disguising one’s intentions under a feigned appearance or to conceal one’s true feelings; and second-a generosity, an openness of heart manifesting itself by generosity.

 

When I think of simplicity, I think of a person who is friendly to everyone; one who has no bone to pick with anyone. I see a person that has found simplicity as someone who has lost his reserve or guardedness-but in a good way. He longer feels the need to guard and protect his heart to keep it from being hurt again. This person shows a sincere interest in others with no need to dominate conversations, no need to neither prove points nor be dogmatic. He lives from the heart. He trusts God to meet his needs of love, affirmation, purpose and security, so he is not compelled to seek these in other ways and through people.

 

I believe the hour is coming when the body of Christ at large will walk in this kind of simplicity because they truly know how loved they are. The world will no longer hold any attraction to us, but rather we will attract them. They will know we are Christians by our love (John 13:35).

Filed Under: Agape Reformation, Christianity

Exposure

March 1, 2009 By cyndi 1 Comment

By Cyndi

                   Is it hard for you to admit not understanding something? What about admitting you were wrong? This can really hit our pride and ego. It can also cause tremendous shame. For me, admitting I didn’t know something was basically saying I was stupid. Being stupid is different than being ignorant, yet many times I didn’t want to expose my ignorance or my stupidity. Generally speaking, I don’t think any of us like to be exposed in any way.

                   Maybe some of this dislike for exposure goes all the way back to Adam in the garden. After having a close relationship with God, daily talking to Him, walking in the garden with Him, he and Eve disobeyed one of His rules. He knew he had done something wrong. He felt exposed so he wanted to hide from God. Don’t we do the same thing now? We try to hide our mistakes. We try to hide our ignorance. We try to hide whatever wrong thing we’ve done to avoid the shame that would come from others if they knew.  We don’t want anyone to think there is anything wrong with us.  In Asia they use the expression, “You must keep your face well.” In other words, you need to always look good on the outside regardless of what’s on the inside.

                   Much of our society is centered on the outside-how we look, how we dress, where we live, and so on. Just about every commercial on television is rapidly flashing multiple ways to improve our outsides in just 30 days, with no cash down, or in only two payments of $19.95, plus shipping and handling. But does changing what we wear, drive, or our hair color really change who we are as a person? Perhaps we’re ashamed of our true personality, trying to be someone we’re not; so we cover our inner person with layers of stuff and lies.

                   God is never ashamed of us; in fact, Jesus even calls us His brethren (Heb.2:11). Even when we make mistakes (which we will) or get embarrassed by our ignorance (that too), we need not try to hide. It’s not like He doesn’t know everything about us anyway! He loves us no matter what, and He’s not ashamed to be our God (Heb.11:16). He readily claims us as His own. We may do something really wrong and, like Adam, want to run and hide. We may even get exposed in front of everyone, thinking we must be the stupidest person who ever lived, yet Father God’s love covers us. Love covers (1 Pet. 4:8).

                   Knowing His love has now empowered me the freedom to be both ignorant and wrong. It sounds funny, doesn’t it? But I no longer have a problem asking seemingly “stupid” questions and admitting to being wrong (at least sometimes). I don’t feel the need to hide myself anymore. I’m not ashamed of what I appear to be on the outside to others because I know God loves me for who I really am on the inside. Being exposed is just a way for me to see His amazing love and grace exemplified in my life.

Filed Under: Christianity