A MOUNTAIN CHOIR

 

A MOUNTAIN CHOIR Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth; break forth in song, O mountains! For the LORD has comforted His people, and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones. Isaiah 49:13 The comforts of the LORD are so sweet that not only His saints but even the heavens and the earth can join in the song! It takes something special to make a mountain sing, yet the prophet calls together a whole choir of mountains—Lebanon, Sirion, the high hills of Bashan and Moab—to sing of the LORD’s grace to Zion. Can we not also turn our mountains of difficulty, trial, and hardship into reasons to praise God? “Break forth into singing, O mountains!” The promise that God will have mercy on His afflicted people rings out like the sound of church bells. Listen to the music; “Sing!” “Be joyful!” “Break forth into singing!” Our LORD wants His people to be happy because of His unchanging love. He doesn’t want us to be sad or doubtful; He calls us to worship with hearts full of faith. He will not fail us, so why do we act as if He might? Oh, for hearts in tune with His goodness! Oh, for voices like the angels before the throne, praising His name! By Charles H. Spurgeon

 

PRESENTED AS FAULTLESS

 

COFFEE THOUGHTS Gerald D Hochstetler Jr. Sip… Happy Monday! Now to Him who is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of His glory with great joy. Jude 24 That is REALLY good news! Being faultless? Really? We can be presented as faultless? Yes, we can! Having experienced condemnation, and having been one who wasn’t able to keep myself from falling or present myself faultless; this became REALLY good news. There is One who can do that. As we experience this glorious Saviour, He lives His righteousness through us. He has clothed us in His righteousness, and now will cause us to desire Holy living. What a trip. Wanting to live Holy? Yes, that is what God works in us. Oh what a Saviour! Gerald D Hochstetler Jr. #coffeethoughts on Facebook Used with Permission

 

PROMISES FULFILLED

 

PROMISES FULFILLED My words shall be fulfilled in their season (their fixed appointed time) Luke 1:20 There shall be a performance of those things That loving heart hath waited long to see; Those words shall be fulfilled to which she clings, Because her God hath promised faithfully; And, knowing Him, she ne’er can doubt His Word; “He speaks and it is done.” The mighty Lord! There shall be a performance of those things, O burdened heart, rest ever in His care; In quietness beneath His shadowing wings Await the answer to thy longing prayer. When thou hast “cast thy care,” the heart then sings, There shall be a performance of those things. There shall be a performance of those things, O tired heart, believe and wait and pray; At eventide the peaceful vesper rings, Though cloud and rain and storm have filled the day. Faith pierces through the mist of doubt that bars The coming night sometimes, and finds the stars. There shall be a performance of those things, O trusting heart, the Lord to thee hath told; Let Faith and Hope arise, and plume their wings, And soar towards the sunrise clouds of gold; The portals of the rosy dawn swing wide, Revealing joys the darkening night did hide. —Bessie Porter

 

DEATH OF THE TWO WITNESSES

 

DEATH OF THE TWO WITNESSES Study of Revelation Continued Remember the two Witnesses, or prophets that God sent to preach and do miracles in front of all the people during the Tribulation? REVELATION 11.7 When they have finished their testimony, the beast that comes up out of the abyss will make war with them, and overcome them, and kill them. 11.8 Their dead bodies will be in the street of the great city, which spiritually is called Sodom and Egypt, where also their Lord was crucified. 11.9 From among the peoples, tribes, languages, and nations people will look at their dead bodies for three and a half days, and will not allow their dead bodies to be laid in a tomb. 11.10 Those who dwell on the earth rejoice over them, and they will be glad. They will give gifts to one another, because these two prophets tormented those who dwell on the earth. The two Witnesses, or prophets, will be actively preaching for at least 3.5 years during the Tribulation period. Their enemies will long to kill them, and eventually they will be allowed to do that. The bodies of the two prophets will lie in the streets for three and a half days. In the Middle East this is an indication of contempt, because the dead are usually laid to rest by sunset. Furthermore, their enemies rejoice, hold parties, and send one another gifts to celebrate the deaths of their hated tormentors. RESURRECTION OF THE TWO WITNESSES REVELATION 11.11 After the three and a half days, the breath of life from God entered into them, and they stood on their feet. Great fear fell on those who saw them. 11.12 I heard a loud voice from heaven saying to them, “Come up here!” They went up into heaven in the cloud, and their enemies saw them. 11.13 In that day there was a great earthquake, and a tenth of the city fell. Seven thousand people were killed in the earthquake, and the rest were terrified, and gave glory to the God of heaven. 11.14 The second woe is past. Behold, the third woe comes quickly. -WEB Bible The joy of those foolish people is short-lived. On the third day, the two Witnesses will get up on their feet and God immediately calls them to come up to heaven. As they disappear into the clouds, suddenly there is a loud trumpet call and the skies roll back like curtains on a stage. REVELATION 11.15 The seventh angel sounded, and great voices in heaven followed, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the Kingdom of our Lord, and of his Christ. He will reign forever and ever!” -WEB Bible We have been learning about the book of Revelation: next week is about the big event we all anticipate: the return of Jesus Christ! IMAGE CREDITS: The Death of the 2 Witnesses, and the Resurrection of the 2 Witnesses: images were generated by SeaArt.ai and edited by C.A. Stevens.

 

THOUGHTS FROM RONALD REAGAN

 

THOUGHTS FROM RONALD REAGAN Remarks at an Ecumenical Prayer Breakfast in Dallas, Texas on August 23, 1984 Those who created our country -- the Founding Fathers and Mothers -- understood that there is a divine order which transcends the human order. They saw the state, in fact, as a form of moral order and felt that the bedrock of moral order is religion. The Mayflower Compact began with the words, "In the name of God, amen.'' The Declaration of Independence appeals to "Nature's God'' and the "Creator'' and “the Supreme Judge of the world.'' Congress was given a chaplain, and the oaths of office are oaths before God. James Madison in the Federalist Papers admitted that in the creation of our Republic he perceived the hand of the Almighty. John Jay, the first Chief Justice of the Supreme Court, warned that we must never forget the God from whom our blessings flowed. George Washington referred to religion's profound and unsurpassed place in the heart of our nation quite directly in his Farewell Address in 1796. Seven years earlier, France had erected a government that was intended to be purely secular. This new government would be grounded on reason rather than the law of God. By 1796 the French Revolution had known the Reign of Terror. Without God, there is no virtue, because there's no prompting of the conscience. Without God, we're mired in the material, that flat world that tells us only what the senses perceive. Without God, there is a coarsening of the society. And without God, democracy will not and cannot long endure. If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will be a nation gone under.