A More Sure Word......

We have also a more sure word of prophecy whereunto you do well

that you take heed, as unto alight that shines in a dark place,

until the day dawn and the day star arise in your hearts.

II Peter 1:19

Seems like when times get hard....

when the economy goes south...

when the country is in fear....

voices come out from every nook and cranny

proclaiming that they speak for God.

I am not here to say they do or they don't.

I merely ask, "How can they all be right?"

How can they all be right when the message

they give is in conflict with others who claim

their message was from God?

We tend to lean on the words of men

rather than the Word of God.

I want you to understand that I am not discounting prophetic words.

I believe in prophecy.
I believe that God speaks, not in new revelation

but in Biblical illumination.
There aren't any new revelations.

God only brings to light that which was written

by men of old as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.

What I see today that passes for "prophecy"

is more to elevate the one giving the message

than the message itself.

In fact, I don't know if I can prove this or not

but I believe that God would speak through

broken vessels.

I believe that God would speak through the very people

that the world would look at an discount their words because

of their manner and brokenness.

I believe that God desires to speak and illuminate

through the lives of men and women who have been cast

aside on the garbage heap of humanity.
Why do I believe this?
Because when the truth of God comes

it will come in a way and a package that will offend

and force us to decide once and for all

"Is this God? It can't be. God wouldn't speak through such people as this!"

Why wouldn't he?
On the very night of Jesus' birth, God didn't send the angels to

announce the birth to the royalty.
He didn't appear to the religious folk's

He didn't show up at the Pharisee's meeting....
NO!
He went to a group of shepherds outside of Bethlehem who were

watching their flocks by night.
The message was delivered to a group that no one would have dared

pick.

Luke 2:17 reads:

And when they had seen it, they made known abroad the saying which

was told them concerning this child.

They spread the news.

Why such an article as this?
Don't be caught up in prophecy because of the one who is

bringing the word.
Don't look to him or her as something other than

an empty conduit through which God may speak.

IF it is a Word from God, then search it out in the Scriptures.

We tend to forget...
We may love Jesus with all our hearts....
We may serve him faithfully....

We may surrender to Him daily....
But all prophecy is filtered through my humanity

and sometimes I'm not the best filter in the world.

I am grateful that God uses us.

That He allows us to play and work as His kingdom is being brought forth.
All prophecy is to be measured against the sure word of God.

Good stuff!

mb

Please Be Patient

I am currently in the process of learning (I use the term loosely) how to download our meeting here at Rapha on Saturday night to our Blog.
I have figured out how... but......

I have currently downloaded a song from our Saturday night worship and hope to, in the near future, begin to download the messages. This is cool beyond x 10 for me.

Please bear with us as we learn new tricks.
Don't forget that I am an old dog and it doesn't come easy.

Thanks again....
Michael Bynum

It IS me!

No matter how many times I say it, it still rings with truth. It is not merely words that are spoken for effect. To arouse some feeling in others that I might feel good about myself. I don't say them to draw attention to myself in an effort to get others to view me in a particular way. I say them because they are true. Simply that! They are true.

The words are true in spite of the fact that I wish they weren't. I wish this because when I confess them, I see how small I am. I see how inept I am. I see how corrupt I could be if I threw off the restraints and gave wholly into my sinful nature. What words could hold such power over my life? Simple.....

"I am in need of being saved. I am in need of a great savior."

The admission that even after years of being a "Christian" I still find myself in this place. A place, I'm not so sure, we ever truly move from. In moving, I am fully aware that I would grab the reins from God and proclaim myself to be the driver of this carriage. In view of God's great mercy, I see the "true" me. In light of God's nature and grace, I am brought to the place of seeing myself as I truly am without God's grace . I am in need of being saved.

Saved from what?

From myself?
From my own selfish, self-centered desires that would use others to get and have whatever was desired.

From the power of sin.

From the penalty of sin.

From the pull of sin.

From hell.

From eternal separation with God.

The list goes on and on.

In all of this, I am in need of being saved.
As John Newton so aptly put it..............

"I am a great sinner............and He is a great God."

Herein is the perfect view of humanity. One that we should never try and escape from. This is the place of humility and healing.

Like the picture above, I stand in a less than sea-worthy craft, adrift on a stormy sea. I cannot, nor will I, survive in such a place. I am in need of being saved.

Thank you Lord for Jesus, your son.

For his death and resurrection.
For the offer of eternal life to me, a sinner.

He is a great God.

See you tomorrow.......

mb

Come Lest I Die

Like Wesley I need to be "Strangely Warmed"
I am dry tinder in need of a spark.
A spark of divine origin that comes when the Holy Ghost of God settles up humanity.
More than the spark.....
More than the ignition to fire....
More than the dry tinder of my heart
is the incredible purpose of God.
To understand that He has come for a reason.
Yes, Love is part of it.
But the greater is Kingdom!
Rule and Reign of Lord God Jehovah in a corrupt world, governed by corrupt men who load the backs of others with oppression.
To bring all to the cross of Christ....
Here, at the cross, we find the great equalizer.
Here we all stand as guilty men and women.
Guilty of sin and in need of a savior.
Only Jesus.
Only His blood....
We are in need of you Lord.
Come and meet us in this hour.
mb

Lunch At The Lodge

Be thou exalted, O God, above the heavens.

Let thy glory be above all the earth

Psalm 57:11

This is a particular favorite time of year for Vicki and me.
We love the change not only in the weather

but in the trees.

Colors come forth and just explode

all around us.

Funny how this happens right before

Winter.
Right before death.

The leaves die and fall from the trees so that

new life can come forth next spring.

Yet right before the death there is this incredible

explosion of color as if to say, "Death isn't that bad."

Death isn't that bad especially when you have hope.

Hope that points to another step in this progression

we call life.

Hope that is directed at someone, that someone being Jesus.

That hope born in a heart that has been made right

through salvation, will enable us

to take the next step.

Hope.

Hope is greater than death.

Hope defeats depression at every turn.

Hope sees where the eyes cannot.

Hope is powerful when coupled with faith.

Yesterday Vicki and I took the afternoon off and went for a drive.

We took off up H'way 11 and just enjoyed the view,

the drive

and

each other's company.

We found ourselves headed for the Little River Cafe, a place

we have eaten at several times and is a favorite of ours.

Big sign out front "Closed:foreclosure".

Bummer!

A victim of the economy.

We drove on down to DeSota State Park and found

ourselves at the lodge restaurant.

A hearty meal of sandwiches and seafood gumbo

(Vicki loves the gumbo..not me)

and

more conversation.

I guess the one thing I enjoy about our times together is

that she makes me laugh.

We went out on this huge deck behind the lodge and just stood and

admired God's handiwork.

What a view!

We drove on over to DeSota Falls and spent some time there.

As the sun began to set and the air began to cool,

we began our journey back home.

Yesterday was one of those presents that God offers to you

and would be so easy to miss if you weren't careful.

Thank you, Lord

mb

Eyes Are A Flame Of Fire

"....and his eyes were as a flame of fire."

Rev. 1:14

When you read this verse, what mental picture do you see?

When you think of Jesus and that his eyes resembled

flames of fire...what comes to your mind?

Is he angry?

Is he mad?

Do you see judgment?

Do you picture the wrath of God being poured out on the world?

Or

do you see love?

Do you you see love like a fire on a cold winters night?

a flame drawing you in to be warmed.

Fire like the flame of a candle that brings light

and pushes back the darkness.

It isn't much light but enough to

overpower the darkness.

Our perception of Jesus really does affect the way we interact with him'

This is why it is so important for believer's to know

their place and position in Christ.

We recite a declaration everyday here at Rapha at the end of every class.

This declaration speaks of our position in Christ if we are saved.

It reads like this:

Because of Christ's redemption

I am a new creation of infinite worth.

I am deeply loved

I am fully pleasing

I am completely forgiven

I am totally accepted

I am absolutely complete in Christ

When my performance reflects this new identity in Christ

That reflection is dynamically unique

There has never been another person like me in the history of mankind

Nor will there ever be

God has made me an original

One of a kind

Special person

And so are you

All of those attributes listed are not from anything that we have done

It is a by product of who we are in Christ.

That through my salvation

I have been justified

I have been reconciled

I have been sanctified

and I have been restored

To a right relationship with Jesus.
Wow!

God on you today.....

mb

God Already Knew

How much does God know?
Everything?
Does He see it all?
The Future?
The Past?
Today?
I can only answer this by faith and say that I believe God does see all.
He was there before time began, so he must possess the capability of moving outside of time.
Even as I wrote that last sentence, my brain kind of froze in a twilight zone kind of moment.
"Capable of moving outside of time."

If you look at our country (the good ol' US of A) you see some trends and behaviors that are alarming. It reads almost verbatim with II Timothy 3 where it says, "In the last days there will be perilous times (stressful times). The chapter goes on to describe a list of character defects that will be brought to the surfaced and manifested in the lives of people who are not believers and followers of Jesus Christ.

If this is a prophetic word (which I believe it is) then it will come to pass. This will be the character du'jour for humanity.
I was lead to another passage that seems to describe the actions of our federal government.
I guess the main comfort I take from these verses is that God is not only in control, he is in charge. The verses are from ECCLESIASTES 10:18-19.
I am sharing from the Amplified Bible.

"Through indolence the rafters (of state affairs) decay and the roof sinks in, and through idleness of the hands, the house leaks. (Instead of repairing the breaches, the officials) make a feast for laughter, serve wine to cheer life, and (depend on tax money to answer for all of it.)"

If those verses don't read like our current state of political affairs in America then I've got purple spots on my face. The government has forgotten the supreme ruler of heaven and earth. They have forgotten the mandate that the government is of the people, by the people and for the people. We have a self-centered, self-serving, group who has set themselves up as little gods to oversee the affairs of those they deem incapable of governing themselves.

The most blasphemous part in all of this is the collective usurping and disregard for God and his authority. We have moved God out of every part of this country (almost), and I fear that we are reaping the seeds of destruction that have been planted years ago. Oh, the church can rise up and claim that God was kicked out of school with no more prayer. They can point to Roe vs. Wade and point to abortion. Maybe we should have been on our knees years ago crying out to God instead of holding pointless rallies and marches that do nothing but draw attention.
You want to change a nation, then change hearts. You don't legislate change....you bring change in by changing the hearts of the people. You share the message that has resonated through the years............Jesus and Him Crucified. His death and resurrection brings freedom.

The Bible always speaks of a remnant.
It is time for the remnant to pray.
I guess what I am saying is that it is time for me to pray.
Pray more than I have in the past.
Pray with purpose and passion.
Pray for the leaders of this nation, recognizing that they are the authority that God has placed over us, or allowed to be placed over us. No matter which, I need to be about the business of asking God for "His Kingdom to come, His will to be done, here on earth as it is in heaven."
It is time for that remnant to get a voice. Not one person but a collective voice that cries out for repentance.
Not popular.....
But it is the heart of God.

God on you......
mb