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More to come on media from Mt.Olive House of Prayer.

Stay tuned, God Bless!

HAVING CERTAINTY IN UNCERTAINTY

Lam. 3:22- It is of the Lord’s mercies that we are not consumed, because his compassions fail not.

23. They are new every morning: great is thy faithfulness.

9/11/2001 revealed how vulnerable America is to being attacked.  No nation is untouchable, no nation is safe.  Vulnerability will either bring out the best or the worst in us.  But most of all, in its wake, it can leave us with uncertainty about our future.  Uncertainty eats like termites.  It may not do the job right away; but if left untreated, the damage will be costly!  Uncertainty also reveals how weak our faith is.  Simply defined, uncertainty means I am not assured of anything concerning the matter at hand. 

In the midst of Israel’s lowest point in its history, Jeremiah was certain of God’s faithfulness.  He would not allow the Babylonian’s overthrow of Israel, an eventual captivity of Israel, to erase the truth about God’s love, mercies, and faithfulness in the midst of Israel’s unfaithfulness to the God of all creation.  The majority of the nation was uncertain of their future; but in the land of uncertainty, Jeremiah spoke of what was certain:  God’s faithfulness. 

So as the housing market continues to drop in sales, as prices continue to sharply increase, as gasoline prices approach an all time high, the world grows more unsafe day by day, etc… hold on to what is certain:  God’s great faithfulness! 

EXPOSE SATAN

James 4:7- Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

For nearly six thousand years, satan has hid under the cover of darkness to cover up his evil plans and purposes.  Him and his minions have covertly been planning to destroy us by any means possible.  No expense has been spared.  The enemy has used the system of the world and the weakness of men to his advantage.  Thousands of religions have been created to keep people from the Truth, technology has taken the world by storm, and life has become so busy with everyone focusing on being successful and providing, that time with God is not even under consideration to most in these last days.  All this was done in darkness to keep the true intentions and motives hidden.      

Yet when the works of darkness are exposed, the plans of the enemy are seriously compromised and will fail because the light of Jesus Christ has dispelled the darkness.  When we submit ourselves to God we will see the purposes of the enemy more clearly.  Then we can resist what he is tempting us to do, and experience being more than a conqueror (Rom. 8:37).  But if we do not expose what he is attempting to do, then surely we will be his victim.  No matter how personal you may believe what you are going through to be, find a praying man or woman of God and expose the enemy’s plot against you.  Compromise his mission, and prepare for transition!

GO TO YOUR SECRET PLACE

Ps. 91:1- He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.

In the Old Testament there were different spots in Israel called a “Place of Refuge” (Num. 35:9-34).  It was at these places where one who killed someone by accident could go and hide to escape being murdered by another who wanted revenge for their love one.  As long as it was truly an accident, the manslayer would be saved until there was a trial.  When they arrived at this place, their case is heard to decide whether or not their case was legitimately an accident.  The manslayer was safe from harm, as long as he stayed within the limits of the city.  If he ventured out of bounds and was caught doing so by the redeemer of the dead one, the protection once freely enjoyed was then forfeited and street justice would now prevail.

God has a place of refuge for His children.  It is in this place that the believer can rest without keeping one eye open.  This secret location is far more advanced, sophisticated, and secure than the witness protection program.  As the long wings of an eagle will cover her brood from harms way, so much more will the shadow of the Almighty shield us.  And although this shield is invisible every demon soon to go to hell sees the shield as clear in the spirit realm, as we see ourselves in the mirror in the natural realm!  So, dwell in the secret place of the Most High.  When you asked for His forgiveness, and accepted Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, and received the Holy Spirit, God made a place available for you to go when life burdens you down.  

JOY OR HAPPINESS

Ps 126:5- They that sow in tears shall reap in joy.

Happiness is based on something that happened, or that was done to me that gave me a moment of having a good feeling within.  For instance, sex outside of marriage will make a man or woman happy for the moment or a while.  But when the feeling of happiness is gone, like a substance abuser needing a fix, we will need something else to happen to bring back the feeling of contentment again.  So we must conclude that happiness, while it is a wonderful thing to experience, does not endure long enough to keep us whole.  It is also situational.  Meaning, what made me happy to bounce back from one situation—may not work in another.

Joy is the fruit of the Spirit.  While happiness may escape me, joy is not based on what comes from the outside to cause me to smile.  The essence of joy is in the believer because happiness is too weak to truly secure us.  Joy will erupt when I think about how the Father loved me so much that He gave His only begotten Son for Me, what Jesus did to save my soul, and how the Holy Spirit dwells within to empower me to prosper although it appears that all hell has broken forth in my life!  And though my flesh feels bad because I had to deny it of one of its many desires, my sowing to the Spirit will enable me to reap in joy.  

LEAVING THE FAMILIARS

Gen. 12:1-Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father’s house, unto a land that I will shew thee:

Like Abraham, most us of would prefer to be where we are comfortable.  According to our logic and rationale, it is just an unfair thing to ask us to remove from our comfort zone.  Our comfort zone is where we feel safe and secure.  We may not release our gifts, talents, creativity abilities, or get the land that God has for us, but that’s okay, as long as we are comfortable!

Being where we are comfortable enables us to say this, “I know where I am, but I will not know where I am going if I leave.”  That’s my point!  How will we ever know what God has for us, if we do not free ourselves from our comfort zone?  At this point it doesn’t even bring comfort; but has subtly become a trap for the purpose of keeping us from our destiny.  Whenever we are so attached to anything more than God, so much so that we cannot leave it though he has commanded us to, we have place ourselves in a precarious position and have no one to blame but ourselves.  Obedience and opportunity are not strange bed fellows.  They have been happily united for millennia.  There will be no opportunities if we cannot be obedient.  What is familiar to me may not be where God has ordained that I should be!  “Wherefore (as the Holy Ghost saith, To day if ye will hear his voice, Harden not your hearts…” (Heb. 3:7-8).  Is the Holy Spirit telling you to move?  Think about all the Jews who descended from Abraham, then ask, “Do I really want to miss a great move of God”?

IT PAYS TO BE FAITHFUL

Num. 27:18- And the Lord said unto Moses, Take thee Joshua the son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit, and lay thine hand upon him;

When I think of the man Joshua so many good things come to mind.  He was a minister to Moses, a military man of war for Israel, and he became the manager of Israel’s day to day affairs after the death of Moses, as God lead him.  Also, he was a man who believed in the creator of all things.  God commanded Moses to train Joshua (Exodus 17:14).  When Moses sent out the twelve spies only two came back with a good report, and one of them was Joshua.  It was from this point God declared the whole generation would die, accept for the two that believed God.  Joshua remained faithful up until the day he died.

Are you consistent in your walk with God?  There is no substitute for faithfulness.  When we are faithful to God His presence, power, and peace will follow us wherever we go.  He expects us to be faithful because he remains faithful.  “…Great is thy faithfulness” (Lam. 3:23).  In the previous verse, Jeremiah spoke of God’s faithfulness in spite of God allowing Israel to suffer captivity as he wrote.  Joshua won battles, took cities, had the respect of his people, and most of all, his faithfulness to God brought all the previous things his way!  What are you believing God for?  Remain faithful and “It shall come to pass.”    

IT ONLY TAKES A MOMENT

Matt. 24:44- Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

In a scene which I’m sure made Hollywood stand in awe, the coastline of Japan in March/2011 was nearly obliterated!  A tsunami once again reminded man of his frailty and mortal condition.  Tears came to my eyes as I watched cars, homes, boats, buses, etc… get pulled out into the ocean as though someone had requested a sweep of the landscape.  Just seeing the water rush towards land was scary enough, but to see the relentless carnage in its brute force was very humbling.  Peoples’ lives have been forever affect and changed.  It is these moments that should bring man to an inescapable and undeniable truth: “Am I ready to cross the thin line between life and death.” 

The reports stated that the resident in the paths of the destruction zones had no more than a fifteen to thirty minute warning to evacuate.  Earthquakes today are happening with more intensity and frequency.  On top of this, all nations are experiencing the worst economical crisis since the depression of the 1930’s, and there is no sign of relief in sight.  Thus the recovery effort stands in jeopardy.  But God in the person of Jesus Christ warned us nearly two-thousand years ago of His sudden and imminent return.  God in His mercy has given us more than enough time to be ready for His coming.  Let us take a lesson from what has happened to Japan.  Since we do not know the day or the hour when our Lord will call His Church home, we should always live in a state of preparedness.  “For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.  For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape” (I Thess. 5:2-3).

JESUS PRAYED FOR ME

John 17:15- I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.

16. They are not of the world, even as I am not of the world.

In the greatest public prayer ever our Lord unselfishly prayed for the protection of the believers throughout the generations to come.  Jesus desired that God would keep us from the evil one, satan.  Although it reads “evil,” in the King James Version, and not “evil one,” our Lord speaks of the character and essence of evil.  This can only be the enemy, the creator of evil.  Many of the other versions have made the correction.  Yet the essence of what is being said is still obvious: God is able to keep us from the purser who seeks to destroy our souls, and bring salvation courtesy of Jesus Christ (John 10:10)!  We do not need to vacate the world to walk in victory.  Through the power of the Holy Spirit we can defeat the flesh, satan, and the world.

Jesus knew that the world would grow increasingly unstable as the end of time drew near.  He was fully aware of the enemy’s intention to do whatever possible to hinder us from living a victorious life.  The habits, bad ethics, or addictions you have been battling are ready to be thrown in the blood.  Jesus prayed and died that you and I might be emancipated from the drudgery of serving hindrances.  Our God prayed for us!  He alone took our sins to the cross, and paid the price for us to be free.  Although we cannot escape this world until our journey is finished, thank God for His assurance of protection while in a strange place.   

Pray

Rom. 10:1

Brethren, my heart’s desire and prayer to God for Israel is, that they might be saved.

One of the most neglected things happening among believers today is the failure to individually spend quality time with God.  Life has become so busy for some that they are not spending time with God and know it, but are not doing anything about it.  The tragedy of this is there is a world of dying people in desperate need of help, but how can we help them when we are not even helping ourselves?  Spending quality time with God is the key to our success.  Within this time God will strengthen and reveal me to me!  It is a time for me to expose my inner man, so that God can disclose how to handle him.

As the “Church Age” draws to a close uncertainty and unrest will greatly intensify.  The enemy is seeking to demoralize as many as he can by stealing, killing and destroying them.  It is our quality time with God that is not only going to help us, but will also lend a hand to some poor unfortunate soul the enemy is badgering—that we may not ever meet.  Paul asked the Roman Gentiles to pray for a nation that was lost in their old way of life.  Most of this nation was so stuck in their old way of doing things that when Jesus came to present a better way to them He was rejected (II Cor. 3:6-7). The Gentiles might not ever meet who they prayed for, but the need for their prayer far outweighed the need to know the Jews.  So, set aside time for God everyday.  Not just for yourself, but to seek Him for the life of someone else.