Unbelief Is a Thief

 Unbelief Is a Thief - by Greg Laurie – www.harvest.org And because of their unbelief, he couldn’t do any miracles among them except to place his hands on a few sick people and heal them. And he was amazed at their unbelief. —Mark 6:5–6 https://harvest.org/resources/devotion/unbelief-is-a-thief/- Listen The Bible tells the story of a woman who was pleading with Jesus for her daughter, and she was very persistent in her faith. Jesus answered her prayer and said, “Dear woman,your faith is great. Your request is granted” (Matthew 15:28 NLT). Faith can make the difference between something happening and not happening. For example, the Bible tells us that Jesus could do no mighty works in His hometown of Nazareth because of their unbelief (see Mark 6:5). Jesus went to other cities andmiracles would happen. Demons would come out of people. The blind would receive their sight, and the deaf would hear again. People with leprosy would be cured. But when He went to Nazareth, they doubted Him immediately. Maybe they thought, “Jesus? We remember him when he was knee-high to a grasshopper. We remember him working atthe carpenter shop with Joseph. We knew that kid.” Yet that “kid” was God incarnate and the Messiah. We can stop the work of God in our lives by unbelief. Unbelief is a thief. In Scripture, we can see how God works through people exercising their faith to produce amazingthings. For example, God could have parted the Red Sea by His own power. He didn’t need Moses to hold up his staff. Instead, God said, “Pick up your staff and raise your hand overthe sea. Divide the water so the Israelites can walk through the middle of the sea on dry ground” (Exodus 14:16 NLT). God also could have done other things like bring fire down from Heaven on the altar when Elijah faced off with the prophets of Baal. He didn’t need Elijah to call for thatfire. But God wants us to exercise our faith. He wants us to be a part of the process. So we need to call out to Him. ------------------------------ Praise Ye the Lord - Nathele Graham - twotug@embarqmail.com The Psalms are loved by most of us who love the Lord. We often think of King David when we think of the Psalms, but there were many men who wrote them. Some of the psalmsstrengthen us in times of need. Quite often we can read elsewhere in Scripture the circumstances that inspired a certain psalm. For instance, Psalm 51 is one written by King David at a very dark time of his life. His sin was great and he risked losing hissalvation because of his actions. His repentance was genuine and it’s easy to feel his remorse when reading this Psalm. Other psalms were written when the enemy was attacking, and God’s intervention was needed. Some are encouraging, such as Psalm 23. Someare written for the sole purpose of praising the Lord. These can take one’s breath away, from the pure and joyous praise of the Lord! “Praise ye the LORD. Praise God in his sanctuary: praise him in the firmament of his power.” Psalm 150:1. The Hebrewword for “praise” is “halal” and that is what Psalm 151 is all about. Praise Him in His sanctuary and praise Him in the firmament of his power. In other words, praise Him everywhere and at all times. “Praise him for his mighty acts: praise him according to his excellent greatness.” Psalm 150:2. Do you take time to praise the Lord? Or are your prayers more along thelines of what you need from God? Can you think of anything to praise Him for? How about the fact that He entered this world and humbly gave us the example we are to follow? How about the fact that He shed His blood to purchase your salvation? That sure seemslike it’s worth a word or two of praise. When this psalm was written, God had done many, many amazing things that were worthy of praise. He created the world and all that’s in it. He called Abraham to be the father of God’s people. He had promised landto his descendants. God had been faithful to His promises, making it possible for Abraham’s wife Sarah to bear a child long after she had passed child-bearing age. He led the Israelites from captivity in Egypt, parted the Red Sea so they could pass through.He fed them every morning with mana for the day. He caused water to flow from a rock. God did all these wonders, and He is to be praised. Since then, He’s He has done so much more. He gave His life on Calvary. Praise ye the Lord! “Praise him with the sound of the trumpet: praise him with the psaltery and harp.” Psalm 150:3. Can you play a musical instrument? If so, do you use your talent to praisethe Lord? The three instruments named here are loud. Especially the trumpet. Our praise for the Lord isn’t to be quietly hidden so nobody hears our praise. Does this mean it’s supposed to be chaotic? No, but He’s done everything for you, so why not letthe world know? Elsewhere in Psalms, we’re told, “O come, let us sing unto the LORD: let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation.” Psalm 95:1. A joyful noise isn’t necessarily on key, and it isn’t necessarily the style everyone likes.It is praise to the Lord, and that’s Who you need to sing and praise with musical instruments and song. “Praise him with the timbrel and dance: praise him with stringed instruments and organs.” Psalm 150:4. Are you one to sit quietly in your pew, barely singing above awhisper, while others are lifting their hands in praise and clapping? Even swaying in rhythm? Praise the Lord with all that is within you. He can hear your thoughts, but loves to hear your voice. Again, the timbrel, stringed instruments and organs aren’tquiet instruments. A timbrel is a tambourine, and an organ is a type of flute or a reed instrument. “Praise him upon the loud cymbals: praise him upon the high sounding cymbals.” Psalm 150:5. Be honest. Are cymbals a muted instrument? Something that quietly plays inthe background? Not hardly. Cymbals make a lot of noise, and the psalmist says to use “loud” cymbals and “high sounding” cymbals. These aren’t the tinkling finger cymbals used in some forms of dance. Let the world know you’re praising the Lordof all creation. “Let every thing that hath breath praise the LORD. Praise ye the LORD.” Psalm 150:6. Do you have breath? Then, praise the Lord! Let Him hear your voice and let the neighborshear your songs of praise. One day soon, everyone will see Jesus. Christians will be called Home in the Rapture, then there will be a time of Great Tribulation. A time when evil is worse than ever before. If you accept Christ after the Rapture and sing Hispraise, you will be martyred. At the end of that seven-year period of time, Jesus will appear and fight for Israel. Of course, He wins. At that time, everyone will bow before Him. “For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me,and every tongue shall confess to God.” Romans 14:11. A wise person will bow before Him now and confess to Him. When Jesus rode into Jerusalem on a colt a few days before His crucifixion, the people couldn’t hold back their praises to Him. The religiousleaders were angry because the people were praising the Messiah. “And some of the Pharisees from among the multitude said unto him, Master, rebuke thy disciples. And he answered and said unto them, I tell you that, if these should hold their peace, the stoneswould immediately cry out.” Luke 19:39-40. If even stones can cry out in praise, shouldn’t those of us who have breath in us and who have been redeemed sing His praise? The answer is yes. Praise and worship don’t always need to be loud. Solomon wrote “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven: a time to be born, anda time to die; a time to plant, and a time to pluck up that which is planted; a time to kill, and a time to heal; a time to break down, and a time to build up; a time to weep, and a time to laugh; a time to mourn, and a time to dance; a time to cast away stones,and a time to gather stones together; a time to embrace , and a time to refrain from embracing; a time to get, and a time to lose; a time to keep and a time to cast away; at time to rend, and a time to sew; a time to keep silence, and a time to speak; a timeto love, and a time to hate; a time of war, and a time of peace.” Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. There is a time when we need to just allow the majesty of God to wash over us and solemnly praise Him. For instance, Isaiah and John both were privileged to see the throneof God. What an awe-inspiring sight that must have been. Both men saw living beings around the throne. Isaiah called them seraphim. These beings praised God. “And one cried unto another, and said, Holy, holy, holy, is the LORD of hosts: the whole earth isfull of his glory.” Isaiah 6:3. John described four beasts around the throne. These beasts also praised God. “And the four beasts had each of them six wings about him, and they were full of eyes within: and they rest not day and night, saying, Holy, holy,holy, Lord God Almighty, which was, and I,s and is to come.” Revelation 4:8. These living creatures praise God all day and all night. Shouldn’t we praise Him too? He gave us all that we have. He gave us life, both in this world and the next. We don’thave much choice as to our situation in this life. Some are born to riches, while others are born to poverty. Most of us are somewhere in between. It’s the choices we make in this life that determines where we will spend eternity. Eternal life should beon your mind and heart. If you’ve rejected Christ, and the eternal life His death, burial, and resurrection gives, then you’ve chosen eternity in the lake of fire that burns forever. Life can be tough. Things happen that can steal our joy. We lose loved ones, our health suffers, our finances might not stretch from paycheck to paycheck. When the psalmistsays to praise God, there is no qualifying words…praise God if your bills are paid, or praise God if you’re healthy. Those are reasons to praise God, but the Apostle Paul tells us “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.” Philippians 4:4.Paul suffered much in his life, and some of that suffering happened in Philippi when he cast a demon out of a woman, which caused her “owners” to bring charges against him. This resulted in him being beaten and thrown into prison. What did Paul and Silasdo in that jail? They didn’t have a pity-party. “And at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them.” Acts 16:25. There was an earthquake, the prison was shaken, and the chains fell off. The prisoners couldhave escaped, but the witness of Paul and Silas affected everyone who heard. No prisoner escaped. This would have meant the keeper of the prison would have been held responsible. That man was ready to commit suicide because he assumed the prisoners had escaped.“But Paul cried with a loud voice, saying, Do thyself no harm: for we are all here.” Acts 16:28. The keeper of the prison was truly thankful, and because of the praises of Paul and Silas he knew he needed what they had. He was changed. “And brought themout, and said, Sirs, what must I do to be saved? And they said, Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved, and thy house.” Acts 16:30-31. You might be surprised how your praise for the Lord affects people around you. I heard of a man whowould hum “Jesus Loves Me” in an elevator. How many people heard the song, and carried Jesus with them for the rest of the day? Only God knows. Sometimes we need encouragement to get through a day. We all have spiritual battles we face, and sometimes it’s very hard to sing out in praise. We can get weary fightingthe battles around us. The battles in life aren’t anything new. Neither is our need for encouragement from others. Even Moses needed help on occasion. In Exodus 17 we read about a battle against Amalek. Joshua let the battle, and Moses, Aaron, and Hur stoodon the top of a hill. “And it came to pass, when Moses held up his hand, that Israel prevailed: and when he let down his hand, Amalek prevailed.” Exodus 17:11. Sometimes we all grow weary, but if we are a part of a Christian fellowship, we should neverhave to stand alone. “But Moses’ hands were heavy; and they took a stone, and put it under him, and he sat thereon; and Aaron and Hur stayed up his hands, the one on the one side, and the other on the other side; and his hands were steady until the goingdown of the sun.” Exodus 17:12. Do you know anybody who is growing weary of fighting the spiritual battle around us? Satan seems to be attacking Christians with zeal. We need each other. Sometimes we need to have help in raising our hands in praise, butat other times we need to be the support for our fellow Christians. Don’t lose heart, but praise the Lord. Sing His praise…speak His praise…but at all times “…Praise ye the LORD” Psalm 150:6b. God bless you all, Nathele Graham ------------------ 7 Prophetic Words God Has for Us about the End Times •Debbie McDaniel This world can be a dark place. Sometimes it’s hard to see light and hope in the midst of all the suffering and pain that surrounds us. Just this year, we’ve seen incredible evil take many innocent lives. We’ve seen terrorist attacks and heard rumorsof war. We’ve seen hurricanes and natural disasters wreak havoc in different places around the globe. Top news headlines reveal constant struggles, pain, and brokenness that people everywhere are facing. Maybe you’re facing it too. Our own personal losses and hardships remind us that this life is far from perfect. Yet as believers we can be grateful that this world is not all we have. We have the very hope of heaven in our hearts. God's words are true, every single one. And He is faithful to bring them all to pass. He never tells us to live in fear, worry, or dread of what’s to come. But He does remind us to live aware, not to be surprised, to be wise and watchful. We don't have to be alarmed. Because He's told us ahead of time what to expect, we know from His word, "such things must happen, but the end is still to come." Mark 13:7 7 Prophetic Words about the End Times: What We Can Expect and Why We Shouldn’t Be Surprised 1. False prophets and false Christs will appear and deceive many: “Many will come in my name claiming, ‘I am he, and will deceive many.’” Mark 13:6 “At that time if anyone says to you, ‘Look here is the Christ! Or ‘Look there he is! Do not believe it. For false Christs and false prophets will appear and perform signs and miracles to deceive the elect if that were possible.” Mark 13:21-22 (also in Matthew 24:5, 23-24) With all the prophecies and signs of the end times that Jesus shares in these verses, He also says this over and over: He warns us to stay aware. Though it’s clear that no one knows the day or hour of Christ’s return, He does remind us 7 different times through Mark 13 to be on guard, watch out, be alert. He longs for His people to “wake up” and not be deceived or unaware of what’s going on around us. - "Watch out that no one deceives you..." v. 5 - "You must be on your guard..." v. 9 - "So be on your guard, I have told you everything ahead of time." v. 23 - "Be on guard!" v. 33 - "Be alert!" v. 33 - "Therefore, keep watch..." v. 35 - "If he comes suddenly, do not let him find you sleeping. What I say to you, I say to everyone: Watch!" v. 36 2. There will be wars, rumors of wars, famines, earthquakes, and natural disasters: He reminds us that we will know these are prophetic words coming to pass when we hear of "wars and rumors of wars," when we see certain events unfolding, "Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be earthquakes in various places,and famines. These are the beginning of birth pains." Mark 13:7-8 (also in Matthew 24:6-8) Many around us may be feeling anxious and fearful in these days. Let’s choose to trust and believe that God is working in our world, even behind the scenes where we can’t fully see. 3. Believers will be persecuted, hated, and put to death, and the gospel will spread and be preached to all nations: “You will be handed over to the local councils and flogged in the synagogues. On account of me you will stand before governors and kings as witnesses to them. And the gospel must first be preached to all nations…Brother will betray brother to death, anda father his child. Children will rebel against their parents and have them put to death. All men will hate you because of me…” Mark 13:9-13 (also in Matthew 24:9-11) 4. There will be an increase in wickedness in this world, and many will grow distant from God in their love and stand for Him: “Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” Matthew 24:12-13 This will be hard for those who remain faithful to watch. But we can trust that God will sustain us who believe in him and help us remain in His love while the rest of the world increases in wickedness and those we thought were faithful turn away. 5. The times will be very difficult and distressing for all: “How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers! Pray that this will not take place in winter, because those will be days of distress unequaled from the beginning…” Mark 13:16-18 (also in Matthew 24:15-22) Thought this is distressing to think about, as believers, we have hope in Christ. We know beyond a doubt He is moving in every nation and that He will come again, just as His word says. For Christians, His second coming is a very good thing. 6. No one will know the day or hour of Christ’s return: "But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.” Matthew 24:36 “…for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night.” 1 Thessalonians 5:2 May God draw many to Himself in these days. And may we be found living as light in a world that so desperately needs His great peace. May He help us not to grow weary or become busy with other things. 7. There will be signs in the sky, the seas will roar, and heavenly bodies will be shaken. And then, in the blink of an eye, at the trumpet’s sound, Jesus promises that He will come again: “But in those days, following that distress, ‘the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the heavenly bodies will be shaken. And that time men will see the Son of Man coming in clouds with greatpower and glory. And he will send his angels and gather his elect from the four winds, from the ends of the earth to the ends of the heavens.” Mark 13:24-27 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of theheavens will be shaken. And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:25-28 “In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed.” 1 Corinthians 15:52 Let's keep working while it is still day... It’s truly what matters most in this life. Image Credit: Thinkstock.com -------------------------------------------- LookingFor Jesus By Hal Lindsey On the list of end-time events, nothing has to happen before Jesus snatches His people from the face of the earth. That means the rapture could happenmany years from now, or any second now. The Bible calls it our “blessed hope.” Titus 2:13 says, “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” [NKJV] Notice that we are not looking for the appearing of Antichrist, but of Jesus Christ. A lot of Christians now believe that Antichrist must appear beforethe rapture. They base this on 2 Thessalonians 2:1-3. “Now we request you, brethren, with regard to the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, and our gathering together to Him, that you may not be quicklyshaken from your composure or be disturbed either by a spirit or a message or a letter as if from us, to the effect that the day of the Lord has come. Let no one in any way deceive you, for it will not come unless the apostasy comes first, and the man of lawlessnessis revealed, the son of destruction.” [NASB] People often confuse “the day of the Lord” and “the rapture.” A study of the day of the Lord in both the New and Old Testaments shows that itis not a single day, but an epoch. It begins at the beginning of the seven years of tribulation (also known as “Daniel’s Seventieth Week”). It ends at the end of the millennium. But the rapture happens before the day of the Lord. Paul taught the Thessalonian Christians about a pretribulation rapture and about the day of the Lord. Sometime after he left, a group began teachingthat the day of the Lord had begun. To the Thessalonians, this meant they had missed the rapture — a notion that shook them to the core. Paul tells them to remember what he taught them about the day of the Lord. Daniel 9:27 says that the tribulation (“Daniel’s Seventieth Week”)begins when “the prince who is to come” (Antichrist) makes a treaty with Israel. Before Antichrist can make such a significant treaty, he will obviously have to arrive on the world scene. So, before the tribulation can begin, Antichrist must have risento a high level of power and prominence, probably as leader of the European Union or its successor. He cannot rise to such a position now because Satan’s work on earth is being restrained. Paul went on to write, “Do you not remember that whileI was still with you, I was telling you these things? And you know what restrains him now, so that in his time he may be revealed. For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only he who now restrains will do so until he is taken out of the way. Andthen that lawless one will be revealed whom the Lord will slay with the breath of His mouth and bring to an end by the appearance of His coming.” [2 Thessalonians 2:5-8, NASB] The restrainer is the Holy Spirit working through the Church. At the rapture, that restraint on Satan will be taken out of the way. The teaching hereis clear. The day of the Lord cannot begin until the rise of Antichrist, and Antichrist cannot rise until the Church has been taken out of the way. Therefore, the rapture must take place before the tribulation. People who believe that the Antichrist must appear before the rapture face a conundrum. Instead of looking for the appearing of Christ, they must lookfor the appearing of Antichrist. But as we just read in Titus 2:13, we are to be “Looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ.” In other words, we are looking for life, not death; love, not hate; and so, we look forward with joy rather than despair. ------------------------- From Alienation to Reconciliation 2Corinthians 5:14-21 Separation, rejection, and alienation are unpleasant experiences that we usually try to avoid at all costs. But we live in a fallen world, so we cannot totally escape them. Isolation from other people is bad enough, but what's worse is that many individuals live apart from the heavenly Father. How tragic and futile life must be when it is spent completely detached from its Creator. God planted within each of us a desire tobe in relationship with Him, so until we find our connection to Him, we will always feel that something is missing. And yet as crucial as that relationship is to our well-being, something stands in its way: Whether by our thoughts or actions, we have all violated the Lord's commands (Rom.3:23), and our pure, holy God cannot be in the presence of sin. Romans6:23 states that the penalty for sin is death, which is an eternal separation from the Lord. Therefore, we will always have a void. What a bleak outlook for mankind! But our loving Father solved the dilemma by sending His Son to pay our penalty. Fully God and fully man, Jesus lived the perfect life, took all our iniquity upon Himself, and died a gruesome death on the cross. No longerare we condemned for our wrongs, because Christ took our place. And three days later, He victoriously rose to life. Salvationis available to anyone who believes and receives this remarkable gift. John 3:16 describes how reconciliation puts an end to our alienation: "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life." ------------------------------