Filling Your Oil Lamp

We know that we are seeing the signs of the end times and what Mark 13:29 says:

²⁹Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door. ³⁰I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. ³¹Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

So we know the rapture is coming close by all the signs that have come to pass.  But the question for you is: are you ready—will you be found worthy to be “taken” and not “left”—is your oil lamp full?  What exactly does this mean to you and how can you know?

Remember The Parable of the Ten Virgins when Jesus talks about the virgins waiting on the bridegroom and some had full oil lamps and the others didn’t.  Here is that parable:

 ¹“At that time the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom. ²Five of them were foolish and five were wise. ³The foolish ones took their lamps but did not take any oil with them. ⁴The wise, however, took oil in jars along with their lamps. ⁵The bridegroom was a long time in coming, and they all became drowsy and fell asleep.

 ⁶“At midnight the cry rang out: ‘Here’s the bridegroom! Come out to meet him!’

 ⁷“Then all the virgins woke up and trimmed their lamps. ⁸The foolish ones said to the wise, ‘Give us some of your oil; our lamps are going out.’

 ⁹” ‘No,’ they replied, ‘there may not be enough for both us and you. Instead, go to those who sell oil and buy some for yourselves.’

 ¹⁰“But while they were on their way to buy the oil, the bridegroom arrived. The virgins who were ready went in with him to the wedding banquet. And the door was shut.

 ¹¹“Later the others also came. ‘Sir! Sir!’ they said. ‘Open the door for us!’

 ¹²“But he replied, ‘I tell you the truth, I DON’T KNOW YOU.’

 ¹³“Therefore keep watch, because you do not know the day or the hour.

Jesus says to those who don’t have their oil lamps filled: I tell you the truth, I don’t know you.

Revelation 3:16: To the Church in Laodicea

 ¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
      These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

And:

Matthew 7:22:  ²¹“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²²Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ ²³Then I will tell them plainly, I NEVER KNEW YOU Away from me, you evildoers!’

So what does Jesus mean by these verses and who is HE addressing?  HE is talking to the church and not even the unbelievers.  What is HE implying when HE accuses the church of not knowing HIM?  Well in the Bible when people KNOW each other it usually refers to when a man KNOWS a woman or intimacy.  So how does one KNOW Christ—How is one intimate with HIM and how does one know if their oil lamp is full?

What if you go to church every Sunday and Wednesday and are active at church?  Does that mean your oil lamp is full? 

Can I depend on my church pastor to lead me in the right direction?  The answer is NO—although God wants you in church every week—amazingly a recent survey says that ministry people only spend 7 minutes a day in prayer and the question is do they even have their oil lamps full?  It is not safe to put your personal eternal outcome in the hands of another person’s hands—even a minister’s.

So what then can you do?

How can I know for sure my oil lamp is full and my eternity is secure?

Simply turn to the LORD.

THE KEY IS SURRENDER.

Most people want the LORD’s salvation—but not for HIM to be their total LORD and MASTER.

How then do I surrender to the LORD?

Just give HIM everything—surrender your entire life—your heart—your future plans—Give HIM everything without any idea what this may mean.

Matthew 10:37 says:  ³⁷“Anyone who loves his father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; ³⁸and anyone who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. ³⁹Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it.

NEXT: Ask the LORD to be baptized in the HOLY SPIRIT.

Luke 3:16 says: ¹⁶John answered them all, “I baptize you with water. But one more powerful than I will come, the thongs of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.

Acts 1:5 says:

⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.

John 1:33 says:
I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’

Acts 11:16 says:
Then I remembered what the Lord had said: ‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’

In 2,000 years—nothing has changed.  People still speak of the water baptism—but fail to speak of the baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT spoken of by Paul in Acts 19:

Acts 19 says: Paul in Ephesus

 ¹While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul took the road through the interior and arrived at Ephesus. There he found some disciples ²and asked them, “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed?”
      They answered, “No, we have not even heard that there is a Holy Spirit.”

 ³So Paul asked, “Then what baptism did you receive?”
      ”John’s baptism,” they replied.

 ⁴Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵On hearing this, they were baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied.

Not until you experience the baptism of the HOLY SPIRIT that Paul speaks of here will you be able to deal successfully with sin in your life.  Up until you receive this HOLY SPIRIT baptism, you are struggling with sin in your own flesh through works and your own efforts will lead you to frustration and failure.

Matthew 11:28 says:

 ²⁸“Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. ²⁹Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. ³⁰For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.”

Paul talks about a mind renewed:

 ¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices (SURRENDER EVERYTHING), holy and pleasing to God—this is your spiritual act of worship. ²Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world (NOT SURRENDERING YOUR LIFE TO CHRIST MEANS YOU STILL BELONG TO THE WORLD), but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

It is with the BAPTISM OF THE HOLY SPIRIT that the HOLY SPIRIT comes into your life and guides and teaches you in the way you ought to go.

1 Corinthians 2:10 says:

The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. ¹¹For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹²We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. ¹⁴The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:
 ¹⁶“For who has known the mind of the Lord
      that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

All you have to do is ask for JESUS TO BAPTIZE YOU WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT

And if you are sincere you will experience this HOLY SPIRIT baptism and the renewing of the mind Paul spoke of so long ago…Your heart will turn TOWARD CHRIST and not the world.  The world is an enmity to GOD.  You cannot have a love affair simultaneously with the world and GOD both.

James 4:4 says:

 ⁴You adulterous people, don’t you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

How can I TRULY know where I stand with JESUS?

According to JESUS the only position (the narrow road) that counts is intimacy with HIM.  (Remember: “I never KNEW you.”)  So, how do you become intimate with someone?

-spend time with them (spending time talking/praying to GOD)

-be devoted to them (following GOD’s commandments)

-get to know them (reading the Bible and praying)

-care about the same things they care about (reaching others for CHRIST—spreading the Gospel—praying for the lost)

-be committed to that person (turning from the things that LORD hates—turning to the things GOD loves)

-be faithful to that person (not playing the harlot—being a faithful wife/bride of CHRIST—not pursuing other lesser gods/pursuits)

Are you an INTIMATE of CHRIST’s?

or

Are you far away from HIM?

If the only time you spend focused on JESUS is once a week on Sunday mornings you hardly KNOW HIM and are dangerously putting yourself in ETERNAL JEOPARDY.

Is your oil lamp full?

http://www.advancedministry.com/sites/index.cfm?i=11265&mid=3

Knowledge of Good

^{Genesis 2:8 reads: 8 Now the LORD God had planted a garden in the east, in Eden; and there he put the man he had formed. 9 And the LORD God made all kinds of trees grow out of the ground—trees that were pleasing to the eye and good for food. In the middle of the garden were the tree of life and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.}

Genesis 2 reads: The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. ¹⁶ And the LORD God commanded the man, “You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; ¹⁷ but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.”

Genesis 3:4-5 reads: “You will not surely die,” the serpent said to the woman. ⁵ “For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil.”

And then Genesis 3:21-24 reads: ²¹ The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. ²² And the LORD God said, “The man has now become like one of us, knowing good and evil. He must not be allowed to reach out his hand and take also from the Tree of Life and eat, and live forever.” ²³ So the LORD God banished him from the Garden of Eden to work the ground from which he had been taken. ²⁴ After he drove the man out, he placed on the east side of the Garden of Eden cherubim and a flaming sword flashing back and forth to guard the way to the Tree of Life.

Now this section of the Bible is fairly well-known and attributed for the understanding that two major things happened to mankind.  Evil was introduced to mankind.  Death was introduced to mankind.  But Adam and Eve ate of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  So what is so alarming about a tree that has the knowledge of good? 

We know what evil looks like and we can agree that evil is just plain evil.  But what does good look like on this tree?  When is good bad?  What’s wrong with good here?  Have you ever wondered why God didn’t just call this the Tree of the Knowledge of Evil?

Now what I am about to say is going to sound very controversial.  So just what is wrong with organizations like the Red Cross or celebrities who promote benevolent causes?  These are actually examples of the things referred to about the Knowledge of Good. 

All the time you see celebrities who flaunt their immoral lifestyle choices to the public and then they turn around and promote helping children or helping underprivileged groups.  People who don’t embrace God at all are doing good things openly?  What’s wrong with that? 

Good acts producing good for mankind—what is so wrong with that?  This takes us back to the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.  The trouble with good produced by people who don’t respect or acknowledge God is that they are essentially saying: “We don’t believe in God—we don’t need a God—and furthermore we can do ‘good’ apart from God.”  It is nothing more than man saying we can do good and look we don’t even need God to do good for mankind.  We can do whatever we want—we can do good and we can do evil, so who needs God? 

So that is the problem—man doing things apart from God—both evil and good.  When you are out of the will of God, even if you are doing that which looks good, it is evil to God.  So how do you know if you are in the will of God?  The only way to really know if you are moving in the will of God is to surrender completely to Jesus, the Son of God and to make Jesus the undisputed Lord and Master of your life and finally ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  This is in addition to making Jesus your Savior and also being water baptized.  Then the Holy Spirit can come into your life and change your heart from a heart of stone to a heart of flesh.

Ezekiel 36:26: reads ²⁶ I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.  Paul speaks of scales being removed from his eyes as described in Acts 9:17: ¹⁷Then Ananias went to the house and entered it. Placing his hands on Saul, he said, “Brother Saul, the Lord—Jesus, who appeared to you on the road as you were coming here—has sent me so that you may see again and be filled with the Holy Spirit.” ¹⁸Immediately, something like scales fell from Saul’s eyes, and he could see again. He got up and was baptized, ¹⁹and after taking some food, he regained his strength.

Once you surrender everything to Jesus, you will learn His will for your life and find out how to stay in His will by regularly reading the Bible and praying.  It doesn’t matter how much goodwill mankind is doing for mankind as long as men are following their own paths and not working within God’s will. Their good isn’t going to count to God when they face Him in the next life no matter how good it looks to the world.

This was the problem of the lukewarm church of Laodicea found in Revelations 3:14-18:

To the Church in Laodicea

 ¹⁴“To the angel of the church in Laodicea write:
      These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. ¹⁵I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! ¹⁶So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth. ¹⁷You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.‘ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. ¹⁸I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see.

Laodicea is the church rich in everything but God—doing good works in their own power but not consulting God.  And God declares this as evil—in fact so evil, He will spit out the church of Laodicea. 

Isaiah 64:6 says:  ⁶ All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags;

Our good apart from God is like filthy rags—no good.  If we surrender to Christ and give Him our lives—then He can use us the way He chooses.  Then, and only then, will our acts of good be acceptable in the eyes of God.  Everything else that is done apart from seeking God’s will is generated from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

It’s okay for Christians to read Harry Potter & Twilight: “NOT,” says God

There is a dark preoccupation with sinister subject matter focused straight at the children. The orientation is to all things related to the occult and dark themed characters—fairies, witches, warlocks, wizards, vampires, pirates, monsters, and psychics. Horror themed books and horoscopes for kids are all available to them. You can find these themes in all media forms: online, books, software, video gaming, magazines, movies, advertising, television, music lyrics, theme parks, and even museum exhibitions, and it is all available to children. Educators use these dark themes to promote “reading” to children, all the while, also educating children about things derived from the occult and other dark themes.

 Books for kids seem to not be worthwhile unless they are about dark subject matter, horror, or the irreverent. Subjects such as righteousness and goodness are just not being popularized as much by the mainstream secular markets. It is hard to tell the good guys from the bad guys, because even the heroes in the current stories can take the role of a wizard or a vampire and they have some measure of the darkness which is glorified.

 In our library summer reading club program with something like 20,000 local kids participating, multiple companies donate funding and slick brochures are produced and then several books are promoted for summer reading. Books highlighted for children to read over the summer focused on witches, fairies, wizards, and enchantresses.

 It is all innocent fun and we are just trying to promote reading—don’t be so prudish, you may say… Well when did such dark material creep under our detection? In our public library, under Christian book titles for children you will find total 757 titles. When you search the topic heading wizard you will find 692 titles. Search witches and you find 1,200 titles, search horror and you will discover 3,521 titles, and 100 titles will be found under the heading witchcraft alone. I even ran across a book for kids on how to have a young witch sleepover party. Some of the titles are much darker and pervasive—describing chants, spells, sorcery, and divinations that children can learn to do.

 Let’s see what the Bible says: Deuteronomy 18:9-13 is about detestable practices: When thou art come into the land which the LORD thy God giveth thee, thou shalt not learn to do after the abominations of those nations. There shall not be found among you any one that maketh his son or his daughter to pass through the fire, or that useth divination, or an observer of times, or an enchanter, or a witch. Or a charmer, or a consulter with familiar spirits, or a wizard, or a necromancer. For all that do these things are an abomination unto the LORD: and because of these abominations the LORD thy God doth drive them out from before thee. Thou shalt be perfect with the LORD thy God.

 Did you read that verse? This is the Holy Word of God and you might need to read it again. I think the Bible is clear about God’s position here on these matters. So we have our children sliding down a slippery slope which is getting steeper and steeper—and no one seems to be paying attention. It is just kid stuff and it’s all in good clean fun—or is it? I know that witches have been a subject matter for kids for many years, but the books out there for kids are much, much darker then they have ever been. Check it out for yourself. I think you will be surprised if you have not taken notice of this purposefully dark shift aimed at our children. I do not know what the answer is—but I believe it is a matter of serious prayer. Our children’s very innocence is at stake.  The enemy has found an easy entrance into the back doors or our safe havens and homes.

 Matthew 18:6 says: But whoso shall offend one of these little ones which believe in me, it were better for him that a millstone were hanged about his neck, and that he were drowned in the depth of the sea.

One of the most current hailed characters in the history of children’s literature I believe directly insults and baspheme God. And, why not? God hates wizards and abhors the occult. God hates leading children astray and aiding and leading them to sin and toward evil. This famous character has a lightning bolt on his forehead and uses the name “Potter.” When the Bible speaks of God, “lightning” is often associated with Him as in the following verses. The same holds true for God being described in the Bible as the great “Potter.” Now imagine, if you will, how unhappy God is that children are being filled with subject matter that glorifies and promotes the occult, witchcraft, and wizards.

 God as the Lightning:

Exodus 19:16-17: And it came to pass on the third day in the morning, that there were thunders and lightnings, and a thick cloud upon the mount, and the voice of the trumpet exceeding loud; so that all the people that was in the camp trembled. And Moses brought forth the people out of the camp to meet with God; and they stood at the nether part of the mount.

 Job 37:3: He directeth it under the whole heaven, and his lightning unto the ends of the earth.

 Psalms 77:18: The voice of thy thunder was in the heaven: the lightnings lightened the world: the earth trembled and shook.

 And here in particular Jesus talks about how God dealt with Satan:

 Luke 10:18: And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven.

 God as the Potter:

 Psalms 2:9: Thou shalt break them with a rod of iron; thou shalt dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.

 Isaiah 29:16: Surely your turning of things upside down shall be esteemed as the potter’s clay: for shall the work say of him that made it, He made me not? Or shall the thing framed say of him that framed it, He had no understanding?

 Romans 9:21: Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honor, and another unto dishonor?

 Some other comments in the Bible about God’s hatred for witchcraft and sorcery:

2 Chronicles 33:6: And he caused his children to pass through the fire in the valley of the son of Hinnom: also he observed times, and used enchantments, and used witchcraft, and dealt with a familiar spirit, and with wizards: he wrought much evil in the sight of the LORD, to provoke him to anger.

 Micah 5:12: And I will cut off witchcrafts out of thine hand; and thou shalt have no more soothsayers:

 Galatians 5:19-21: Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, Envying, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

 Perhaps a good rule to go by for deciding what materials or programs you and your children can feel comfortable with can come from the Lord’s Prayer and Matthew 6:10: Thy kingdom come, Thy will be done in earth, as it is in Heaven. If you can see yourself watching a TV show or reading a particular book in Heaven or at church, then it probably is safe. If you cannot imagine hearing a particular song in Heaven or playing a specific game at church is it right for you, now?

 You may say, “Wow, this is totally crazy and  impossible.” Here is the challenge…if you think you want to spend eternity in Heaven (and I hope you do), then why is it not practical to avoid the kind of materials you know you should not be exposed to right now?

 The world’s fascination with the occult is its admission that people are drawn to that sense that there is something more than the temporal world in front of us. If only people could see that it is God who is the source of all the things they are longing and looking for in their souls. People sense there is more, but sadly, they are being pulled to the wrong, poor substitute for God in the occult. Satan can only pervert God’s creation and only God can create anything. Turn to God in Who you can have all your spiritual longings met.

Source: Excerpt from the new book: InLove with the Whirlwind–When God Takes Your Heart by Storm

Copyright ©2009 First Edition Susan Davis,

 

In Love with the Whirlwind  All Rights Reserved

 

 

Interview: In Love with the Whirlwind Author

Interview with “In Love with the Whirlwind—When God Takes Your Heart by Storm” book author Susan Davis

Q: What is the book “In Love with the Whirlwind” about?
SD: Well it sounds like a title for a novel, but it really is a non-fiction book about the incredible way God has moved in my life as I pursued a friendship with Him.  I started to have so many wonderful encounters with the Godhead: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, that I wrote them in my private journal and I would often speak of them to friends.  My friends and family said I should write a book.  I really hated that idea and resisted it.  But truthfully, I decided to do it one day because I knew God was showing me some wonderful truths and I also felt I had so many people I knew who didn’t know this wonderful God and I wanted them to think about these things.  So I set out to convert my private journal about God into a public-access document.

Q: What is the significance of the “whirlwind”?
SD: Well, I wasn’t the only one experiencing amazing things—my young son was also having encounters with God and reporting amazing things to me.  Onetime, at age ten, he had a vision of going up into a whirlwind—and he immediately drew a picture to record his experience (the same one on the book cover).  This is something he has never done before and what he described matched the experience recorded by the Prophet Elijah in the Bible.  He described things no ten-year-old would have known.  I also learned that God is referenced in the Bible as in the whirlwind—also something I was not previously aware of: Nahum 1:3 says: the LORD hath his way in the whirlwind and in the storm.

Q: What kinds of things will people take from reading this book?
SD: I say the book is fun and deep both—and I think that reflects God’s personality.  God has a wonderful sense of humor and He is also a just, righteous, and powerful God, which is what I discovered and this is reflected in my writings I believe.  Truly, I set out to testify of how God is really involved in all the little details of our lives and how passionately He loves us and longs for us to put Him in the center of our lives.  You know, I just so desperately want people to read my book because I want them to think about the importance of the decisions we make in this life and to take a hard look at how close we really are to eternity and where we will spend our eternal lives.  I recall one author once writing that God is a God who says, “Love me or else,” and this is really true.

Q: You talk about the incredible way God has moved in your life—what exactly do you mean?
SD: You know, you can see Christ’s personality—reflected in the incredible variety in nature—like no two snowflakes are alike, and that is the way God interacts with His children I believe.  I have experienced God in so many different ways: visions; hearing His audible voice; healings; and miraculous experiences.  I really don’t believe in coincidences anymore.  I believe the closer you get to God, the less likely it is for you to avoid the supernatural—because God is supernatural.   God revealed personal things about my life to me and He revealed things that I felt He wanted me to share with others about living their lives.  Realizing that was what helped me to turn the corner and to decide to write a book.

Q: Do you think this experience you describe with God is something others can have?
SD: If I didn’t believe that I wouldn’t have written this book for one thing.  I believe the key for anyone to experience a close relationship with the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is through salvation and believing Jesus died for us and was resurrected.  So that if we believe that He did this and confess this to men we can be saved.  Then I believe in water baptism as a public demonstration of our salvation.  But I believe that we should surrender our lives wholly over to Christ.  Now God crushed me and took away my little personal idols and one of those things was the love of this world and my career.  Looking back I regret putting worldly pursuits and things in the place of God in my life.  This is one of the reasons I also wrote the book is to demonstrate how short-sighted it is to put God in second, third place, or even further down our priority list.  

Q: What do you hope to accomplish with this book?
SD: I knew of course when I set out to write this book that there will be those who don’t believe what I am reporting about my experiences.  However, I believe that there are many who want to believe and already know that God is real and calling them to come to Him.  I worked a year on converting a personal journal into a public-access document and at the time I thought to myself—if just one person read my book and the Lord spoke to them through my book—then wouldn’t it all be worth it?  What if my one-year project meant one person could avoid an eternity in hell—wouldn’t that be worth it? I think so.

“In Love with the Whirlwind—When God Takes Your Heart by Storm”: available at these fine online booksellers:

www.amazon.com/Love-Whirlwind-Takes-Heart-Storm/dp/1439238502/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1250738191&sr=1-1

www.booksurge.com/In-Love-With-The-Whirlwind-When/A/1439238502.htm

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www.alibris.com/booksearch.detail?invid=9953299801&query=in+love+with+the+whirlwind&qsort=&page=1

Book website: http://sites.advancedministry.com/lovethewhirlwind

Author email: lovethewhirlwind@sbcglobal.net

Facebook: in love with the whirlwind

Twitter: lovethewhirlwnd

ISBN-10: 1439238502

ISBN-13: 978-1439238509

Excerpt from the New book: In Love with the Whirlwind

The Soon Return of Christ
I was once talking to a close family member on the phone and I told this person that I believed that Christ
was coming soon. This person swiftly reminded me that my Grandmother believed that Christ was coming
soon too during World War I and World War II and that Christ did not come then and He was not coming
now. I was crushed to hear this considering the many ways Christ was showing me He is coming soon.
Now I know that many Christians believe this way. I thought about these words and how my Grandmother
faithfully followed and watched for Christ. My earthly Father, who has since passed away, also watched
for Christ ardently during his lifetime. I thought about the very first Christians from the New Testament
and how they too watched for Christ’s return.
 
What did my dear Grandmother…my Dad…and the early New Testament Christians all have in common?
Well apart from the fact that they have all since passed away—they all watched and longed for the
promised return of Jesus and the catching away of the saints to the New Jerusalem as outlined in the Bible. It does not matter that none of them lived during the time of the generation that would actually see the return of Christ and the rapture, they all would still earn the Crown of Righteousness as promised to them in the Bible. Did you catch that? God accounts that watching for the return of Christ as being so significant that He awards a crown to the watcher in the next life. This is the mandate of God for the follower of Christ to watch for His return to take home His Bride. Here is the verse regarding the Crown of Righteousness:
 
2 Timothy 4:8: Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous
judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.

So many Christians are caught up in the things of the world and when you even suggest watching for the
soon coming of Jesus, I hear so frequently their response from the verse Matthew 24:36: But of that day
and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. So they excuse themselves by saying that since only the Father knows the day and time of these things, then let’s not worry or talk about it. Only, here is the actual section in the Bible with this verse:
 
Matthew 24:36-44: But of that day and hour knoweth  no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but my Father only. But as the days of Noah were, so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. For as in the days that were before the flood they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered into the ark, And knew not until the flood came, and took them all away; so shall also the coming of the Son of man be. Then shall two be in the field; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Two women shall be grinding at the mill; the one shall be taken, and the other left. Watch therefore: for  ye know not what hour your Lord doth come. But know this, that if the good man of  the house had known in what watch the thief would come, he would have watched, and would not have suffered his house to be broken up. Therefore be ye also ready: for in such an hour as ye think not the Son of man cometh.

This verse essentially says that BECAUSE no one knows about that day or hour, therefore keep watch.
BECAUSE you do not know on what day or hour your Lord will come you need to watch. This verse is
frequently misquoted and misused to say because no one knows about the day or hour but only the Father,
so then just put it out of your mind. Now let us read further into this section of the Bible:
Matthew 24:45-51: Who then is a faithful and wise servant, whom his lord hath made ruler over his
household, to give them meat in due season? Blessed is that servant, whom his lord when he cometh shall
find so doing. Verily I say unto you, That he shall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil
servant shall say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; And shall begin to smite his fellow servants, and
to eat and drink with the drunken; The lord of that servant shall come in a day when he looketh not for him,
and in an hour that he is not aware of, And shall cut him asunder, and appoint him his portion with the
hypocrites: there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
 
Here then are some sobering words from the Bible that the master will come on a day when He is not
expected and an hour He is not looked for and the servant not looking for the Master will be assigned to a
place with the hypocrites.
 
Now when the signs of the soon return of Christ start to happen, and they are now, then how much more
important is it for this generation to be watching for Christ? Therefore, God says that He will reward those
who diligently watch for and long for the return of Christ. God will punish those who do not watch for
Christ and occupy themselves with other pursuits. Now with the events foretold to happen at the soon
coming of Christ for His Bride taking place now, it is shameful for Christians not to be looking for Christ’s
soon return. In addition, it is shameful for Christians to persecute and condemn those who are faithfully
looking and watching especially since this is what the Bible specifically prescribes for all true followers of
Christ.
 
The Crown of Righteousness (awarded for those who long for His appearing) is called this for two main
reasons. One reason is that it is the hope and inspiration of the Christians’ during a time of great darkness
and life’s struggles to watch for Christ’s return. The other reason is that when Christians watch and
anticipate Christ’s return to retrieve His Church they are more inclined to pursue holiness and
“righteousness” in anticipation of the near coming of the Lord. When people believe that Jesus’ coming is
close, they tend to surrender their lives to Christ and to turn from evil in the only way it is possible to
pursue holiness—through Christ.
 
Hebrews 9:27-28: And as it is appointed unto men once to die, but after this the judgment: So Christ was
once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time
without sin unto salvation.

Copyright ©2009 First Edition Susan Davis,

 

In Love with the Whirlwind  All Rights Reserved

Welcome Whirlwind Lovers!

The New Book: “In Love with the Whirlwind”—“When God Takes Your Heart by Storm” tells how God explodes supernaturally into author Susan Davis’ life. Both Davis and her young son Ethan Davis describe their encounters with a supernatural God as the author pursued friendship with Him. 

“Intimacy with God is available to all who seek Him. The closer you move toward God the more you realize that this is the real reason we exist,” the author explains. “In Love with the Whirlwind” is the author’s testament that Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are close to everyone and intimately involved with even the smallest details of people’s lives. Davis’ book implores this lost generation to love the Lord and to seek the narrow path. “Once God captures your heart, nothing in the world or no one else will ever mean as much and nothing in life will ever be right until you establish this one key relationship,” states Davis. 

Davis continues, “I never had aspired to write a book, but when I shared with my friends and family the things that God was doing in my life, they encouraged me to do it. God was revealing things to me that I knew I needed to share with others, so I set out to write this book.” In this world of endless choices available for occupying time, Davis’ book strates how life’s diversions promote a dangerous lukewarm relationship with Christ which ultimately will cause people to be separated from God for eternity. “In Love with the Whirlwind” is fun, playful, honest, real, and deep all at the same time. 

“In Love with the Whirlwind” is available through www.Amazon.com, the world’s largest online booksellers and www.BookSurge.com, www.Abebooks.com, and www.Alibris.com. Author Susan Davis can be reached for interviews by email at lovethewhirlwind@sbcglobal.net. Book excerpts are available upon request for publication.