Tip-Toeing Through the Tulips - Now Think On This by Steve Martin

Tip-Toeing Through the Tulips

Steve Martin

“I and My Father are one." Spoken by Jesus (Yeshua) in John 10:30, NKJV.

There is a way to get mad about something in order to get the right thing done. Anger isn’t always wrong. It can be, if not used properly. But there is a time to get angry against that which is just wrong. God did. His Son Jesus did too. And together they both still do, along with the Holy Spirit.

As believers, we need to understand that there are proper times when to stand up, tell it like it is, and let the world know that we are not sissies, tip-toeing through the tulips, in order to not “offend anyone, or hurt someone’s feelings.”

Enough is enough.

How many Christians had been taught far too long that Jesus (the eternal God in the flesh), is “all loving, at all times” (which He is), but because of our inerrant understanding of love, which isn’t His, we think He is therefore not the same God that is revealed in the Old Testament (Torah, Tanakh, Prophets, and Psalms), bringing judgment and dealing with sin righteously. We have been taught that “that God” certainly is not the same God that exists now. How advanced we have become in our pride and arrogance.

We have been taught that the God people knew then is not the same One we should know now. Did not Jesus repeatedly reaffirm to those He walked with that He Himself is God? Did God somehow change between the Old and the New Testament?

I think not. Because He did not.

“I am the same yesterday, today and forever.” (Hebrews 13:8) God (Jesus) has not changed from the time He was revealed in the Old Testament to the time He came in the flesh in the New Testament.

How foolish have we become when we use the excuse that we can’t say this, or do that, because we are Christians, followers of Christ, and therefore must “love all people at all times”. Yes, we are to love, but godly love doesn't just permit people to do anything they want to do when they want to do it.  While “God is love”, we can't use our misunderstanding as for the excuse we so often use to allow all things to be as they continue to be, which in turn is leading our nations down the road to ruin, destruction, and death.

It is past time not speaking out against those perverse actions that others continue to espouse and push on our society, which is horribly not biblical. It is past the time for us to simply “be sensitive to others, be kind and permissive for how they feel and act, and continually turn the other cheek”, letting God’s way of life be cast aside, because "Que sera, sera" (what will be, will be.)

What Bible are these people reading, who preach this stuff in our Sunday pulpits and synagogues?

To quote one popular TV celebrity (which I heavily resisted doing, but it gets the point across) – “Where has that gotten you?” 

Has it not occurred to us that when Jesus (His real name is Yeshua) walked on earth, He did not go around apologizing for any actions His Father did in the Old Testament, the exact same God of the New Testament as He is of the Old?

When God brought judgment upon people, cities, lands, and nations, He was indeed acting as the God of Love, as He still is. But with His righteous anger, and to deal with sin as it is, He must act accordingly. That doesn’t stop Him from being God. It places Him above all things, all people, all acts that mankind commits, BECAUSE He is God.

Is it a different God Who brings judgment in the Book of Revelation, which is coming soon in prophetic fulfillment, then it was the same God Who brought judgment during Noah’s time during the

earth’s destruction by rain and flood; Moses’ deliverance in Egypt, or Joshua’s taking of Canaan from the inhabitants who dwelt there? The God they knew and obeyed is the same God Whom we are called to follow now.

If we just sit by and let the world go to hell, falsely believing that we will be rescued out of here any day now, by some false teaching which has stymied the Church for decades, called the rapture (which didn’t start to be spread until the late 1800’s), then we are again among the most foolish of them all.

If God our Father, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit (God – all three in one) are the same yesterday, today and forever (Heb. 13:8), then we too must understand that right is right, wrong is wrong, and we better know the difference, and respond to people and situations as they do, God the Trinity.

I pray that we will not be totally shocked when we see God act as He will, as He won't be fitting into our perfect religion that we have made Him out to be, trying to dictate and regulate in our minds what He can and can’t do.

We have got to stop “tip-toeing through the tulips” around those who continually speak out against life, liberty, and upholding godly principles. 

We must be the ones conducting ourselves, our families, our churches and our congregations as we should be doing, basing our lives on God’s Word and ways, and not on those of the current windblown non-believers, pushing their societal beliefs on our nations.

For far too long we have sat back and let the unrighteous take over.

No more.

Shalom and ahava (peace and love in Hebrew).

Now think on this,

Steve Martin

Founder/President

Love For His People, Inc.

If these messages have ministered to you, please consider sending a charitable gift of $10-$120 today, and maybe each month, to help us bless families in Israel whom we consistently help monthly through our humanitarian work. Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

  

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Now Think On This #397 - in the year of our Lord 03.06.19 – “Tip-Toeing Through the Tulips” – Wednesday, 5:45 pm

Relevant Forever? - Pastor Abel, Nigeria

Pastor Abel, Nigeria 

RELEVANT FOREVER?  

"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." (Hebrews 13:8)

James 1:16-18, "Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures."

             

In today’s memory verse, the Lord Jesus Christ is revealed as never changing. If you can catch a revelation of what this means in your spirit, your life will never remain the same. One benefit of His eternal consistency is that the works He did over two thousand years ago, He can still do today in the lives of those who believe and are yielded to him. Not only are His works unchanging, but His word also never changes.

No wonder the Holy Spirit said in Psalm 119:89, “Forever O LORD, thy word is settled in heaven.”

If you want your life to be built on a sure foundation in this world of uncertainties, then build your life on His Word. When you live by the Word of God which is forever settled in heaven, it will cause you to remain relevant forever. If you want your life endeavors to outlive you, make sure they are founded on God’s Word. I am appealing to you today to embrace the Word of God which is forever settled. The world we live in is changing but God never changes, and His standard never changes either. For example, thousands of years after God commanded Abraham to walk before Him and be perfect, Jesus Christ came and echoed the same words to His disciples (Genesis 17:1, Matthew 5:48).

In our Bible text today, we have fundamental truths that cannot be wished away if you want to forever remain relevant spiritually and in the kingdom of heaven. It says:

“Do not err, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning. Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth, that we should be a kind of firstfruits of his creatures.”

One of the truths contained in this Scripture is that every good and perfect gift is from God, the Father of lights. You know He is your Father indeed, when like Him you illuminate the darkness of this world. Another of these truths is that this Father of lights does not change, and there is no shadow of turning with Him.

As human beings, we may restructure, modernize, amplify and contextualize His printed word in our hands, but His original word is forever the same with Him in heaven. Lastly, the most effective instrument He has been using since the world began is His word (John 1:13). Through this same word are we born again and made perfect. His word is indeed magnified above His Name (Psalm 138:2).

Beloved, the extent of your relevance depends on the extent to which your life complies with the word of God. Do you abide by His word?

May God bless you all in Jesus Christ Name. Amen.

Pastor Abel

Pastor Abel with Bibles given to children in Nigeria

Love For His People Note: We continue to raise funds for Pastor Abel and his church to buy and distribute free Bibles in Nigeria. Will you help us?

You can donate here for online giving: Bibles for Nigeria or send a check to the address below.

Your tax-deductible contributions receive a receipt for each donation. Fed. ID #27-1633858.

  

Secure, conveniently contributions can be done online now. Click here: DONATE 

(or use the DONATE buttons on the blog.)

Contribution checks can be sent to: 

Love For His People, Inc. 

P.O. Box 414   

Pineville, NC 28134

Todah rabah! (Hebrew – Thank you very much.) 

Below are more photos of Pastor Abel showing Bibles given to members of the community and his church. He can buy them for $4.00 each. Please help Love For His People, Inc. help him, with your tax-deductible gift today. Send to the address above, or use our safe, on-line contribution method.

Thank you very much.

Steve Martin
Founder/President
Love For His People, Inc.

  

Is This Dream From God? - MAUREEN D. EHA CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Is This Dream From God?

 6/9/2016 MAUREEN D. EHA  charisma magazine

Here's how God brought to pass the dreams of some of our heroes in the Bible. (Roksolana Zasiadko)

Nearly 10 years ago, after having been saved and Spirit-filled for 14 years, I experienced a personal revival. Many truths in God's Word became revelation to me, and I learned to live more according to the Spirit than according to the flesh. During this season, I came to understand that God had created me for a unique destiny.

I was SO excited! For the first time in my life, I had purpose—a true sense of calling. As I continued to press into God, He began to speak to me through dreams, visions and prophetic words about the things He would have me do.

He even began to move me in the direction I would need to go to fulfill some of the words. Though they had nothing to do with ruling and reigning, I felt as Joseph must have after he had received supernatural input about his future.

What I didn't know was that, like Joseph, I too was headed for a pit. It was a figurative rather than a literal one—but it was nevertheless a place of betrayal and rejection that caused me much disillusionment and pain.

I couldn't make sense of my experience or find a resolution for it. Slowly but surely the dreams began to fade, and the desire I had to become all God wanted me to be fizzled out.

By His grace, I didn't completely give up at this point; I kept running to Him. And when I pressed in to study His Word, I saw something. I wasn't the only one who had experienced the death of a vision on the way to fulfillment! Many characters in the Bible went through a similar time in their journeys.

Moses was appointed by God to be a leader of His people—to bring the Israelites out of Egypt. He didn't ask for the job; in fact, he resisted it. But once God convinced him of his call, he took the necessary steps to begin walking in it.

What happened? Every time he appealed to Pharaoh to "let God's people go," Pharaoh said, "No." It's a little difficult to lead a group of people if you can't get them moving in the right direction! Moses must have wondered whether he had really heard God about the appointment in the first place.

Joseph dreamed that he would rule over his own family; then he was sold by his brothers as a slave. In any society, a slave is a far cry from a ruler! And his chances of fulfilling his destiny got even slimmer when he was thrown in prison for something he didn't do.

David was anointed as a young boy to be king over the Israelites, but he spent the next 15 years trying to stay alive long enough to make it to the throne. He probably thought Saul, the reigning king, would be the one to train him up and prepare him for the job; instead, Saul sought to kill him.

David must have felt the prophet Samuel had made a big mistake in pouring the anointing oil over his head. The way things were going, he was more likely to become mincemeat at the end of a sword than the next king!

Paul was called as an apostle to the Gentiles. He traveled all over Asia preaching the gospel—until he was apprehended and put in jail. Suddenly, his ministry travels came to a screeching halt. How was he supposed to reach the people God had sent him to?

Perhaps you are in the place today that these godly characters once were, trying to hang on by a thread to a promise or a vision or a prophetic word and wondering why the realization of it seems so impossible—or at least far away. Perhaps you are feeling, as I did, as if you can't go on.

Don't worry. You aren't responsible for putting the wind back in your own sails. "For God is the One working in you, both to will and to do His good pleasure" (Phil. 2:13). He is responsible for taking you from the promise to the presentation of it. And He knows that the season in between—the time of preparation—is often difficult.

But He also knows what it will take for you to carry out the commission He has given you, and He wants to be certain you are prepared for the task. He uses the time of preparation to patiently and carefully equip you, going so far as to work all things together for your good so that His purposes ultimately will prevail (Rom. 8:28).

We don't know for certain all that God had to work into—or out of—the biblical characters I mentioned to make them ready for their destinies. But we do know the end results.

Moses led God's people out of Egypt and through the wilderness to the brink of the promised land. Joseph was named second in command to the highest ruler in the nation. David became king over all Israel—not just over one of the two kingdoms. Paul wrote letters while in jail, now called "epistles," that have "spoken" to Gentiles and believers alike for centuries as a part of the New Testament.

Did these men fulfill their destinies? You bet they did! And you will too. The Bible tells us that "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever" (Heb. 13:8), so you can rest assured that God will do for you what He did for them.

Don't let the season of preparation discourage you or dampen your faith. Don't let it obscure your vision. Hang on! If you have a promise, you'll see the presentation—just like all the saints who have gone before.

Draw closer to God. Experience the presence of the Holy Spirit every month as you read Charisma magazine. Sign up now to get Charisma for as low as $1 per issue.

Dare to go deeper in your faith. Our "Life in the Spirit" devotional takes you on a journey to explore who the Holy Spirit is, how to interact with Him, and how He works in your life. Are you ready to go deeper?