Seek the Kingdom of God

I dreamt last night that someone I know called me with a panic in her voice and plead, "I need you to call for help!  He is seeking the Kingdom of God!"  Before I could ask for any further details, I woke up.

I do not know for certain if that dream came from God, but I immediately went to prayer for an unknown person seeking God.  I prayed he would only seek God's Kingdom and no one else.  That his eyes would be opened to anything that would confuse him from knowing the True Kingdom of God and he would capture what he was seeking. That he would not let any previous misconceptions or earthly idols get in the way of seeking God's Kingdom and living right before the Lord. That He would repent and believe in the True Gospel of Jesus Christ. This is also my prayer for anyone reading this, including myself. 

And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand: repent ye, and believe the gospel. Matthew 1:15

I could write several blogs about seeking the Kingdom of God, but my message today is simple and brief. Remember, God is not hiding from you. In fact, He is chasing you and wants to be found by you.  Keep seeking the Kingdom of God and do not run away from anything He tries to reveal to you.  If He tells you that you need to change your ways of thinking or give up anything keeping you from obtaining His Kingdom, listen and humbly obey His voice.

Here are a few scriptures on seeking God that stood out to me most:

Regard not them that have familiar spirits, neither seek after wizards, to be defiled by them: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:31

Glory ye in his holy name: let the heart of them rejoice that seek the Lord. Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually. 1 Chronicles 16:10-11

The Lord looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. Psalm 14:2

Seek ye the Lord while he may be found, call ye upon him while he is near. Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts: and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon. Isaiah 55:6-7

But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Matthew 6:33

That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us: For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring. Acts 17:27-28

Doors: Part 4

When I originally decided to write a blog on doors (before I realized how many times the word is mentioned in the bible), I wanted to write about two drastically different doors: the one we invite evil to enter through, and the one we open for blessings.

Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this age, against spiritual hosts of wickedness in the heavenly places.  Ephesians 6:11-12

Spiritual warfare is very real.  In Luke 22:31-32 Jesus tells Peter, "Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail."  Satan wants to tear all of us apart and separate us from the Father as wheat is separated from the chaff.  We may or may not realize how easy it is to open doors that allow Satan and his demons to enter into our homes.  By watching television and movies as well as listening to music with satanic beats and reading ungodly books (which often includes so-called Christian artists and authors), we give Satan a foothold and allow him to affect us with nightmares, bad tempers, sinful desires, and in some cases even physical, emotional or mental ailments.

I am speaking out of experience.  I too was once obsessed with television shows, movies, and books filled with the occult, violence, and carnality.  I was plagued with bad dreams, bad moods, and bad decisions.  After marrying Mel, we let go of a large number of books, as well as giving up most television and movies. 

I said at the end of “Doors, Part 3” that it was no coincidence that God wanted me to write on doors to remind myself of some scriptures I had forgotten. In 2017, Mel and I did a lot of praying to reveal the objects still in our home he wanted us to place in the garbage.  Although all of our movies were gone, we were still giving Satan an open door through objects.  Any item that represented an image a false religion may worship had to go.  Anything symbolizing a false god or demon had to go.  Any object depicting anything related to television or movies had to go.  Trust me, this was sometimes a difficult process as collectibles, jewelry, household items, clothing, and other miscellaneous items were bagged and placed out with the garbage.  Some of the items were innocently held onto, as we had never connected the image to an idol that an ungodly religion worships, yet we were obedient to all of God’s promptings.  The Holy Spirit is a gentleman and did not reveal the objects all in one day.  He allowed us to get rid of items in stages so we would not be overwhelmed. 

I tell you all this very personal information to help show you that even those of us who do our best to walk down paths of righteousness can still be blinded by worldly objects.   I feel that Christians should share personal experiences to help each other grow in the Lord.  It is very important to share with others what we learn so they may learn along with us and not repeat our errors.  We learned a very valuable lesson not only to be very careful of anything we allow into our home, but also to listen to the Lord when He tells us not to purchase certain items.  We also found that it will always be good practice to pray on a regular basis that God will reveal to us any items in our home that give Satan an open door.  Evil spirits will attach themselves to objects and when we bring them in our house, we are giving them permission to enter.  When you rebuke the devil in Jesus’ name, he must flee, but as long as you have an occult item in your possession (even innocently), the demons are free to return. 

Therefore submit to God. Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners; and purify your hearts, you double-minded.  James 4:7-8

If you are not certain what items are considered open doors, pray God gives you wisdom.  When you have a check in your spirit about something (Do your fingers burn or tingle when you touch the article?  Do your eyes burn or itch when you look at it?  Do you feel a tightening in your chest or unexplained nausea when the item is near?), either throw it away or do your research.  Look it or similar objects up on-line and review its origins.  Or ask a trusted spiritual friend or leader.  My general rule of thumb these past few weeks was simple, “In doubt?  Throw it out.”  Better safe than sorry.  My salvation means a lot more to me than inanimate objects.

I Peter 1:16 says, "Be holy, for I am holy."  Besides this being an excellent verse to remind us to live righteous lives, it also reminds us that a holy God cannot tolerate sin.  If you are asking God to bless you in any way, be it a health, spiritual, financial, emotional, or mental issue, you cannot be wallowing in sin and expect Him to answer your prayers.  If you feel your prayers are being blocked, it may be that God wants to help you, but the ungodly objects in your home are hindering his blessings.  

I want to stop here for a moment and make it very clear that God has always been very good to us.  We have had many of the items we threw away before and after we married, but that does not mean we have spent our entire lives in turmoil.  For one thing, Mel and I have a very peaceful and loving marriage, so it is not as if the objects affected our relationship.  God has taken care of us and communicates to both of us (Mel more often than me).  The point of this blog is that we can hinder God’s blessings when we stubbornly refuse to let go of the world.  When we attempt to gain the world, we literally risk losing our souls.    

Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said: "I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people. 

Therefore Come out from among them And be separate,” says the Lord. “Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you."  II Corinthians 6:14-17

I know there are some already resistant to what I have said because you are too attached to material possessions.  Well, I am going to make even more of you upset when I say there are also some people we may need to let go.  When we allow people with poisonous personality traits or ungodly beliefs in our lives, we are asking for trouble.  These people already have open doors they have allowed Satan to walk through, and he very well may connect us to them and begin to harass us.  This is not my concept, read the above verses as well as: Make no friendship with an angry man, And with a furious man do not go, Lest you learn his ways And set a snare for your soul.  Proverbs 22:24-25  & Do not be deceived: "Evil company corrupts good habits.  Awake to righteousness, and do not sin.  I Corinthians 15:33-34  

You may meet a seemingly nice person who just happens to be into Wicca.  Make no mistake, there is nothing nice about witchcraft; just being around this person can invite the demons attached to her to follow you home and oppress you.  For Satan himself transforms himself into an angel of light. II Corinthians 11:14  

We are to treat everyone with kindness and respect, but when we willingly let a person involved in Satanism in our lives, we are mixing dark and light when they are clearly meant to be separated.  There is a fine line between witnessing to an unbeliever and becoming their friend.  By all means, please share the love of Jesus, but do not cross the unholy line and become unequally yoked even in a mild friendship.   

I'm not saying all our friends have to believe the same; most of ours do not, but just be careful not to allow their negative influences to harm your spiritual walk. And if they are into any form of witchcraft, I am indeed saying it is better to let them go.

It is not just outside influences that give Satan an open door to harass us.  When we give into negativity, critical attitudes, grumbling toward God, and sinful desires, we are saying we are more fleshly-minded than spirituality in-tune.  We make it easier for the enemy to plague us with depression, anger, bitterness, un-forgiveness, and other sinful actions.  I am talking of oppression, not possession (you can read more about the difference in Mel’s blog: see link in first paragraph).  We must bind and cast the evil spirits out of our homes in Jesus’ name and trade our poisonous attitudes for a heart of repentance and praise.  Worshiping the Lord (not just singing a pretty song, but really honoring Jesus with your heart and soul), brings down the strongholds of sin. 

This brings me right to the door you want wide open in your life: the door of God’s blessings, which absolutely includes praise and worship.    

“The lamp of the body is the eye. Therefore, when your eye is good, your whole body also is full of light. But when your eye is bad, your body also is full of darkness. Therefore take heed that the light which is in you is not darkness. If then your whole body is full of light, having no part dark, the whole body will be full of light, as when the bright shining of a lamp gives you light." Luke 11:34-36 

When we strive to enter in at the narrow gate and live separated from the world (Luke 13:24 & II Corinthians 6:14-7:1), it is much easier to open the doors to blessings.  The bible says we should work for the Lord because it is our duty, not for reward (Luke 17:7-10), so I am certainly not suggesting our goal for living clean lives should be for our own personal gain.  We do the right thing simply because it is the right thing, and we love the Lord.  Our motivation should be to please God, not man, and definitely not ourselves.  However, with that said, God is very generous and loves to bless His children.  The types of blessings He may bestow are endless: a romantic & blissful marriage, well-adjusted & spiritual children, a fat bank account, the perfect job, good health, and the list could go on for days.  God is a good Father and (as long as you are within His will), He will grant you the desires of your heart (as long as they are within His will).

Mel and I have made a new rule: whenever one of us is feeling negative, we will ask for prayer, and change the subject to focus on positive issues.  We may even take the time to sing a praise song or two.  This shift not only allows us to display the fruits of the spirit of love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, faith, meekness, and temperance (Galatians 5:22-23) with one easy change in attitude, but it invites the Holy Spirit to bless us with God’s presence.  We open the door even wider for God’s bounty when we refuse to let pessimism fester.     

We have all walked through this life wounded by someone we love.  The closer the relationship to that person, the more difficult it is to forgive him or her.  However, Jesus expects to forgive those that have caused even our deepest scars.  When we allow ourselves to let go of anger, and start to see the offender as God’s child, we can begin to replace the bitterness with compassion.   Releasing these negative emotions will indeed make it much more likely that God will bless us.

When we truly have hearts full of repentance, God will honor our humble hearts.  Spending time in prayer and seeking His face with hearts wide open to hear all He has to say.  When we pray, “Mold me, Lord, to be the vessel you want me to be,” and mean it with every ounce of our being, we open the doors wide open for God’s mercies.  The day you claim you are not in need of God’s correction and do not need to change, is the day you can assure no blessings will come.  When you feel you are not worthy, and cannot quite grasp why God has chosen you to serve Him, then He will smile and know you are ready to work for Him; you are ready to receive His countless blessings.  The more repentant and humble you are the more God can trust you will not waste His gifts. 

For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: "I dwell in the high and holy place, With him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones.” Isaiah 57:15

We can choose to open the door to Satan’s harassing oppression or to God’s bountiful blessings.  Choose today whom you will serve. 

Doors: Part 3

Most assuredly, I say to you, he who does not enter the sheepfold by the door, but climbs up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear His voice; and He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them; and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice.  Then Jesus said to them again, "Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.”  John 10: 1-4 & 7-11

In 2017 I read a book by Phillip Keller titled “A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23.”  I have not enjoyed a non-fiction book as much as this one (not counting the bible, of course).  Keller preaches the Truth so eloquently that it struck me to the core.   Keller opened up the world of shepherds I never knew.  After reading his book, the 23rd Psalm, as well as the fact that Jesus refers to Himself as our Good Shepherd, makes this comparison so much more meaningful.  Real sheep 100% rely on their shepherd to properly care for them.  A bad shepherd has underfed sheep full of parasites living in dying pastures.  Just like Jesus, a good shepherd takes care of His sheep’s every need.  He takes great care moving his sheep from pasture to pasture in order to assure they always have plenty of green grass.  He anticipates their every need.  (Please read Keller’s book, he says it so much better, and you will see the bible in a completely new light.)

Only our True Shepherd may enter through the correct door to our hearts.  The thief and robber, Satan, may try to gain access, but the sheep (the true believer) will not recognize his voice, and will not let him in.  Or should not let Satan enter.  When we first submit to God, then resist the devil in the name of Jesus, Satan will flee. Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. James 4:7 

Our Good Shepherd protects not only the doors to our heart, but literally laid His life down for us. 

Jesus is the door of life.  Jesus longs only for good things for our lives (see Jeremiah 29:11), and desires that we may lie down in green, lush, beautiful pastures next to still waters.  He longs for a life full of abundance, or full of plentiful blessings.   

Satan is the door of death.  Why would you choose to walk through a dark and twisted door that would only steal, kill, and destroy your soul? 

Do not waste your life waiting to decide whom you will follow and allow access to the door of your heart.  Choose today whom you will serve.  Make Jesus Lord of your heart, mind, body, and soul.  Lock the door of your heart to the sins of this world and do your very best to walk down paths of righteousness.    

Do not grumble against one another, brethren, lest you be condemned. Behold, the Judge is standing at the door! James 5:9

As I have previously mentioned, my blogs are not just for the sake of lecturing strangers.  What I write often ministers to me as well.  I do my very best to practice what I preach.  Therefore, I will not be a hypocrite as I attempt to preach how vital it is for us not to grumble. Instead, I will admit this is a huge flaw of mine that the Lord wants me to change.

Although the passage in James specifically mentions grumbling against one another, I am going to go a step farther by stating any type of complaining against the Lord is a sin.

Work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure. Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,  holding fast the word of life. Philippians 2:12-15

I am not talking about getting annoyed because you live in an area that is far from being your dream town or feel frustrated when you get injured or become ill and are forced to quit a decent job.  These feelings are normal.  The Bible says it is okay to be angry as long as we do not sin in our anger (see Ephesians 4:26).  It becomes a sin when we take our anger out on God and have the nerve to address the Holy of Holies with, “How dare You do this to me!”  Or, “Why did You allow this to happen?”  In the midst of physical or emotional pain, it is often difficult to see the hand of God in the situation.  Nevertheless, God is always there.  Remember how I just wrote a few moments ago that our Good Shepherd only wants the best for us?  Of course you do!  God does not will for us to have an injury that will affect you for the rest of your life, develop a neurological condition, or get cancer.  Bad things happen because we have a free will and life happens at a normal pace. We do not live in a bubble. Just because God did not prevent a much beloved person or animal from being taken away from you, does not mean He wanted your heart to be shattered.  Psalm 56:8 tells us that God keeps our tears in a bottle.  This means He sees us weeping alone in the night and has compassion for His children.   

I Corinthians 13:12 reminds us that our human knowledge is dimmed, and we very well may never understand the bad things that happen to us (and others) this side of eternity, but when we see Jesus face to face, all things will be made clear.  It is hard to imagine such clarity, but I have heard several testimonies of those who have died, went to heaven, and then were sent back to earth, say that while they were in heaven, all things suddenly made perfect sense.  Never had they felt such an amazing awareness and understanding of all things.  Yet, once they came back to their mortal body, the crystal clear knowledge left them.  My point is that God is fully aware of all that happens, and we can have peace knowing all things truly do work together for our own good because God is in control.  When I let this sink in, I grumble a lot less and can simply rest in knowing God has had the details of my life worked out since before I was born (see Psalm 1391:16 & Jeremiah 1:5). 

Now back to what James says about grumbling against others.  I am intolerant of those who are intolerant.  I am critical of those who are critical.  I want to change those who always want to change everyone else.  I cannot stand self-centered people because they don’t care if they hurt my feelings.  Why it took me 44 years to realize how hypocritical my grumblings are is a testament to just how stubborn I can be (I am now 51 years old).  I try to justify my hard heart by saying these people do not care whom they hurt and besides, God does not call me to like everyone.  While both these statements are true, God does expect me to love His creation, and this is difficult to do when all I see are their flaws.  I have a heart of compassion for people in general and care deeply about their souls (which is why I write a blog), so I am not saying I ever cease to care about someone’s spiritual condition, nor do I ever want anything bad to happen to anyone (even those who have hurt me).  I am not a cold person and typically care about other’s feelings, and have often been told I am too soft and tender-hearted.  With that said, there are certain personality traits I try to avoid.  Moreover, the list of people I would rather not be in the same room with is a bit too long.  In short, I spend too many hours grumbling to my husband about past and present wrongs and personality flaws of others.

“You have heard that it was said to those of old, 'You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, 'Raca!' [or dumb head] shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, 'You fool!' shall be in danger of hell fire.” Matthew 5:21-22

When a reckless driver nearly causes an accident with you or someone else, I doubt the first words out of your mouth are, “Well, God bless him.”  Mine either.  It is usually something more like, “Idiot!”  The bible makes it very clear that we are not to use such insulting language.  I know this is not an easy command to follow.  For 4 1/2 years we lived in the mountains with narrow, windy roads (we no longer love there).  To top it off, there were two very popular lakes in our county (the one that was within walking distance from our house at the time is the third most popular in the state).  Therefore, the treacherous roads and excessive traffic creates a deadly combination.  I once had a deputy sheriff tell me that our county has a very high mortality rate on the roads due to this issue.  Not only do we hear and see Life Flight helicopters anywhere from two to seven times a week (the small hospital was behind our house), but when we are on the roads, would see and experience near-accidents almost every day.  Therefore, I will say it again, it is difficult for the cruel words not to shoot out of my mouth when a careless driver nearly costs someone their life. I learned to replace my words of anger with a prayer of thanks that no one was injured.  Focus on the positive, not the negative.  (By the way, Mel and I always prayed for the person requiring helicopter transport and their family each time Life Flight landed behind our house.)

The truth is, people in general are rude, selfish, greedy, jealous, dishonest, and full of carnality.  We have all been wounded by people close to us based on all the above reasons.  The cruel and heartless actions of others are the excuses we (I) use to justify the anger and resentment that is so difficult to get rid of.  But we are not responsible for any one’s sins other than our own.  We cannot control our friends’, co-workers’, or family members’ actions.  Instead, we can allow the Holy Spirit to guide and control our own hearts and forgive those that have harmed our spouse or us.  We do not have to let harmful people back into our lives, but we do have to remove the root of bitterness choking out our relationship with Christ.  This is very difficult, and we can only be successful when we admit and confess that this is an issue of sin in our lives, repent, and then allow the love of Jesus to rule our hearts and let Him change us.   

God is always  dealing with me on the heart issue of grumbling. With His help, I know I can have a softer heart.  I fully accept that God the Judge is always standing at the door to my heart, and I will always be held accountable for my negative attitudes.   

Search me, O God, and know my heart; Try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24

Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean; Wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow. Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit.  Psalm 51:7, 10-12 

Recent Dream of the Lord's Return and the Cherubim, Written by my Husband

 Recent Dream of the Lord's Return and the Cherubim

Written by my Husband, Mel

I recently dreamed that Jesus spoke to me and said, " Tell me your dream". I replied," I saw four angels with their wings spread, and the tips of their wings were touching one another as the cherubim turned in each direction." Then I began to sing, "Holy, Holy, Holy, Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come. " The angels sang with me, and as I repeated the chorus, more angels joined in until I was singing with a multitude of heavenly hosts! The song was upbeat and beautiful and was unlike any song I have ever heard. The angel's voices were very high pitch and sounded possibly feminine. As the song ended the final words were, "Come, Lord Jesus!"

The angels sang the word Jesus for several seconds. I looked up and I saw Jesus returning, Jesus was quickly descending toward me, with his hands outstretched, and I could see the nail prints in the upper part of his hands near the wrist, and his face was shining brightly. Words cannot express the sound of the multitude of heavenly hosts singing with me or the beauty of the return of Christ.

Doors: Part 2

(In case you can't tell, that's a picture of me kneeling in my closet. Taken in our previous house on Idaho.)

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.  Matthew 6:6

Although a literal closet is not necessary, symbolically speaking, when we approach our heavenly Father for prayer, we must shut the door in our hearts and minds to outside distractions.  I highly recommend praying with your spouse and children, but I also believe individual prayer time alone with God is vital to your spiritual walk.  Sometimes all we do is a quick prayer at bedtime or over our meals, but we must not neglect time on our knees.  I know this is not always easy when we are rushed or, in my case, are not sure what to pray.  When I do not know what to say, I take this time to thank God for His love and the blessings in my life.  I ask Him to empty me of me and fill me with Him; make me clean and use me.  I do not usually ask for anything at this point (prayer requests are saved for prayer time with Mel and at bedtime). My personal alone time with God is for repentance as well as for praise and being willing to listen to what God has to say to me.

 If I had to sum up the best attitude of prayer for a prayer closet, I would choose Psalm 46:10, Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!  Exactly!  Use this door to shut yourself in with God and humbly acknowledge Him and all He has done.  

Spending time alone with God in prayer opens up the doors of repentance, faith, and renewal.

 

And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding; and the door was shut. Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open to us!' But he answered and said, 'Assuredly, I say to you, I do not know you.' Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man is coming. Matthew 25:10-13

Then one said to [Jesus], “Lord, are there few who are saved?”  And He said to them, “Strive to enter through the narrow gate [or door] for many I say to you will seek to enter and  not be able.  When once the Master of the house has risen up and shut the door, and you begin to stand outside and knock at the door, saying, 'Lord, Lord, open for us,' and He will answer and say to you, 'I do not know you, where you are from,'  then you will begin to say, 'We ate and drank in Your presence, and You taught in our streets.' But He will say, 'I tell you I do not know you, where you are from. Depart from Me, all you workers of iniquity.' Luke 13:23-27

The above doors are symbolic of heaven’s door.  The first example in Matthew is the parable of the ten virgins, representative of those who are spiritually pure (the entire parable is Matthew 25:1-13).  The wise virgins who kept enough oil on hand to keep their lamps lit while waiting for the bridegroom demonstrate those who remain faithful in their walk with Christ and endure to the end.  The foolish virgins who run out of oil, then must leave to go buy fuel and miss the bridegroom when He comes, are those who get tired of living righteous lives and give up on their faith.  There are many reasons people backslide and, in a sense, run out of oil to fuel their spiritual lamps.  The main reason is that they blame God for their pain and disappointment.  Loved ones die, illness and diseases happen, spouses cheat, children suffer, the church lets you down, and the list goes on.  People also fall as the foolish virgins because they have grown impatient in waiting for a specific event and they walk away, saying they will return only after things go their way.  In other words, they may say, “God when you bless me with a husband, then I’ll commit my life to You.”  The list of items one may be waiting on could be anything from a good health, a baby, a job, money, fame, and on and on.  

Leaving to buy oil can also represent leaving the paths of righteousness to seek forbidden pleasures because they feel being a Christian is too boring.  They will return to God only after they have had their “fun,” never stopping to realize they could die at any age, and then it will be too late to buy oil.  The foolish women represent backsliders and not simply non-believers because they chose to meet the bridegroom (Jesus) in the first place.  Also calling them “virgins” implies they were once pure before God.  They once had the faith to want to be a bride of Christ or they would not have joined the wise virgins to begin with.  They are the shallow Christians also seen in the parable of the sower in Matthew 13 (You can read my blog on that topic here: https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2023/07/the-parable-of-sower.html

The example in Luke 13 is saying the same thing as the end of the parable about the virgins.  We must live righteous lives and work hard to enter through the gate (or door) to heaven, or God will say He does not know us and will send us away. Salvation is a free gift we can never earn, but we have to be very careful we don't lose our salvation with foolish actions.  All other doors in your life will ultimately lead you to the final door of to Heaven where we face God’s judgment throne.  Only then can we confidentially say we endured to the end as we fall at the feet of Jesus and lay our crowns at His feet.  I pray you want as much as I do hear the Father say, “Well done, good and faithful servant; come and dine with Me,” and not, “Depart from Me, I do not know you.”     

When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed. And Mary Magdalene was there, and the other Mary, sitting opposite the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat on it. His countenance was like lightning, and his clothing as white as snow. And the guards shook for fear of him, and became like dead men. But the angel answered and said to the women, "Do not be afraid, for I know that you seek Jesus who was crucified. He is not here; for He is risen, as He said. Come, see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead, Matthew 27:59-61 &  28:2-7

Hallelujah!  Jesus is risen!  This is such an exciting door and is the cornerstone of our faith.  Jesus came to Earth in human form and willingly allowed Himself to be tortured and crucified for our sins.  His blood on the cross paid the debt we owe God for our sins.  But the story doesn’t end there.  When Jesus rose from the dead, He removed the sting from death and swallowed it up in victory!  Not just the sting of His death, but ours as well.  Because we serve a risen Savior, we have the opportunity to live with Him in paradise for all eternity.  Don’t waste such a precious gift by living a life of sin.  Repent and live for Christ, embracing His death on the cross and resurrection from the tomb!

Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I tell you a mystery: We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed-- in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible has put on incorruption, and this mortal has put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: "Death is swallowed up in victory." "O Death, where is your sting?  O Hades, where is your victory? I Corinthians 15:50-55    

Doors: Part 1

When you see this title, you may be thinking I have come up with a random theme for a sermon, or that I have run out of topics, and I am just grasping at straws.  However, this is a subject that came to me after praying on what to write about.  Mel and I were discussing dreams, and the issue of open doors seems to be a common theme in his dreams.  It was then I knew what I needed to blog about: the positive and negative doors in our lives.

We have a bible search program on our computer called “Word Search 7.”  When I looked up the word “door,” 164 matches popped up.  As I read the many different times this simple word is used, I realized I could delve much deeper into the subject than I originally intended.  I am certainly not going to list all those scriptures, but this will be a four-part series.

The very first time the word door occurs in the bible is in Genesis 4:7 “If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin lies at the door. And its desire is for you, but you should rule over it."   God confronts Cain after he has given God a less than satisfactory offering.  God obviously knew Cain’s heart very well, for sin was indeed lying at his door.  The next action of Cain is murdering his brother Abel.  When we willfully choose to disobey God and have no desire to please Him, we invite sin to rule our actions.  We open our heart’s door to evil ways and are more apt to do the wrong thing.  Although we can never be perfect, when we do our best to please God and have a sincere desire to walk down paths of righteousness, it is much easier to resist temptations and do the right thing.

I am not going to sequentially go through all 164 occurrences of the word door, but before I move to the New Testament, I would like to mention two more important doors in Genesis.  In contrast, the door of faith and the door of doubt.  

 First, the door of faith to which I am referring is the door on the ark that Noah spent 120 years building.  In Genesis chapter 6, God instructs Noah to build an ark so that he and his family will be spared the coming judgement upon the wickedness of humankind.  In faith, Noah spends 120 years building the ark.  Noah further obeys the Lord by gathering pairs of animals onto the ark. 

Then the Lord said to Noah, "Come into the ark, you and all your household, because I have seen that you are righteous before Me in this generation.” On the very same day Noah and Noah's sons, Shem, Ham, and Japheth, and Noah's wife and the three wives of his sons with them, entered the ark-- they and every beast after its kind, all cattle after their kind, every creeping thing that creeps on the earth after its kind, and every bird after its kind, every bird of every sort. And they went into the ark to Noah, two by two, of all flesh in which is the breath of life. So those that entered, male and female of all flesh, went in as God had commanded him; and the Lord shut [the door]. Genesis 7:1 & 13-16

Notice that Noah and his family are spared because God sees they are righteous.  Next, notice it is God who shuts the door to the ark.  Due to Noah’s faith and obedience combined with holy living, God used His door of protection not only to spare Noah, but also to assure future generations could continue after the floods.

The door of doubt to which I am referring is the door Sarah stood next to as she learned she would have a child.

Then the Lord appeared to [Abraham] by the terebinth trees of Mamre, as he was sitting in the tent door in the heat of the day. So he lifted his eyes and looked, and behold, three men were standing by him; and when he saw them, he ran from the tent door to meet them, and bowed himself to the ground, and said, "My Lord, if I have now found favor in Your sight, do not pass on by Your servant.  Then they said to him, "Where is Sarah your wife?" So he said, "Here, in the tent." And He said, "I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son." (Sarah was listening in the tent door which was behind him.) Now Abraham and Sarah were old, well advanced in age; and Sarah had passed the age of childbearing. Therefore Sarah laughed within herself, saying, "After I have grown old, shall I have pleasure, my lord being old also?" And the Lord said to Abraham, "Why did Sarah laugh, saying, 'Shall I surely bear a child, since I am old?' Is anything too hard for the Lord? At the appointed time I will return to you, according to the time of life, and Sarah shall have a son." Genesis 18:1-3, 9-14 

In spite of hearing the Lord Himself tell her she would have a son at the age of 90, she refused to believe.  This was not the first time she refused to believe God’s promises.  As you know, two chapters earlier she insisted Abraham marry her servant Hagar in order to supply him heirs.  She could not be convinced God was going to use her to be the mother of all nations, and acted outside of God’s will.  Yet, God is gracious and forgave Sarah’s faithlessness and stubbornness.  

 And the Lord visited Sarah as He had said, and the Lord did for Sarah as He had spoken. For Sarah conceived and bore Abraham a son in his old age, at the set time of which God had spoken to him.  Genesis 21:1-2 

You can read more about Sara in my blog, "Profile of a Doubter, Part 1: Sarah"  https://thankful-julie.blogspot.com/2024/02/profile-of-doubter-part-1-sarah.html

There the good news lies.  Even when we stand by our own doors of doubt and obstinately refuse to believe God’s promises, He is faithful to still do just as He says.  However, this is not to encourage you to doubt, but to believe that God is the ultimate promise keeper.   

This is all I am going to explore for the Old Testament.  Part 2 will explore the New Testament.