“Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day.“
Psalms 25:4-5
Author Archives: Ron Edwards
WILL YOU MISS THE RAPTURE?
An important message for Christians on the words of warning Jesus spoke to the His disciples about how some Christians will be so enamoured with the things of this world that like Lot’s wife, they will not want to leave, look back and miss being taken up to heaven at The Rapture. Two angels lead Lot’s family out of Sodom and likewise God’s angels take the Saints to heaven to protect them from the Wrath of God that is poured out on an unrepentant world at the Trumpet and Bowl judgements.
“But Lot’s wife, behind him, looked back, and she became a pillar of salt.” Genesis 19:26
“Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot—they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all— so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. Remember Lot’s wife. Whoever seeks to preserve his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life will keep it.” Luke 17:28-32
Another excellent message from Nelson Walters. One you need to share widely with members of your church group.
IRANIANS FINDING SALVATION IN JESUS CHRIST
Iran is facing a wave of internal turmoil and covert attacks that are undermining the radical regime’s nefarious plans. Even as the violence escalates, hope is rising among Iranian citizens who are finding salvation in Jesus Christ.
Whether it’s the exploding coronavirus, mysterious fires at nuclear and military facilities or protests, Iran’s ruling Islamic clerics are facing unprecedented challenges as the regime tries to maintain an iron grip on the nation.
All this comes against the backdrop of ongoing government protests and a remarkable revival that’s witnessing thousands of Muslims turning to Christianity in the midst of COVID-19.
“That’s why we are calling this a pandemic of hope,” said Mike Ansari, who runs Mohabat TV, one of the most popular Christian satellite channels in Iran.
Ansari told CBN News that Mohabat TV is recording 10 times more online salvation’s than this time last year.
“We are registering around 3,000 personal decisions by Iranian Muslims to leave Islam for Christianity during this revival,” Ansari said.
That’s 3,000 people each month who’ve decided to follow Jesus Christ since the pandemic began in March.
“People in Iran are just not happy the way their economy is going, the way the government is robbing them of their national resources and exporting Shia Islam to the neighboring countries, so they just don’t trust their government,” said Ansari.
The large number of people leaving Islam is causing a backlash against the church. Dozens of Christians have been arrested and imprisoned for responding to the gospel message since March.
“During these critical times for the regime, there’s a tendency, historically, for the regime to really crack down on religious communities like Christian converts, and we see that today,” Nader told CBN News.
Iran is one of the world’s most dangerous places for Christians. Yet, Christianity is growing faster in Iran than in any other country in the world.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be proclaimed throughout the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.” Matthew 24:14
WORST LOCUST SWARM IN 70 YEARS STRIKES EUROPE
Prophesied end times scenario
“There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences. And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven… You will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives.” Luke 21:11, 17-19
Millions of locusts have now descended upon Sardinia triggering leaders to declare a state of natural disaster and pleading for immediate action. In what many are describing as resembling a biblical plague, locusts have reportedly stripped large areas of the island’s agricultural regions of crops, in what the World Bank has already been branded the most serious such invasion the world has faced in 70 years according to Express news.
I have already posted several stories on locust plagues devastating first many countries in Africa then the Middle East now they have descended upon Europe.
The report stated the epicentre is formed by the municipalities of Orani, Ottana and Bolotana in the Tirso valley. The locusts arrived from the Mideast and Africa, where 23 countries have experienced similar devastation. The President of Reclamation Consortium of central Sardinia, Ambrogio Guiso is warning that roughly 13 thousand hectares of land had been impacted.
He went on further to state: “We ask for the immediate establishment of a control room so that the locust problem can be tackled with preventive actions. “We think that in concert with the other bodies in charge and with the coordination of the Region, concluded Guiso, an important preventive work can be done, with actions that must start now.”
Farmers have impacted the most and have limited options for mitigating the destruction caused by the vast numbers of locusts, other than burning fields to destroy the pests. Franco Saba, Mayor of Ottana, said: “Current damages must be compensated and preventive action has taken place to prevent the phenomenon from happening again in the next few years.” The cost of damage is still progressing – but Mr. Saba suggested it could run into millions of euros.
WHY ON LINE SMALL GROUPS CHURCH IS A GREAT OPTION
Nickey Gumbel, vicar (pastor) at Holy Trinity Brompton in London, recently recorded a podcast with Canadian Pastor and thought leader Carey Nieuwhof. Gumbel developed the world-famous Alpha Courses and has decades of experience with in-person small groups. Like so many, he never considered online groups as a viable option and only transitioned his church’s small groups to online when forced by the coronavirus pandemic. A few short months later, he is a true believer in online groups and their advantages. You can listen to the whole podcast here. (He starts talking about online groups around 29:55).
According to Gumbel, here are nine ways that online groups are actually better than in-person groups:
1. Everyone is more relaxed. Think about it: instead of walking into a strange environment, everyone is sitting in their favorite chair at home, they’ve got their coffee or tea (or whatever) fixed just the way they want, and they’re in their comfortable clothes. All of this puts a person at ease, leading to better discussion.
2. Everyone is in their own home. For most, home is a place of solace, and it’s much more inviting to join a group while at home. Some actually have a reluctance to walk into a church building or someone else’s home, so this can be an incredible advantage.
3. Travel time is cut down. This isn’t as big of an issue in smaller towns where distances are reduced, but in larger urban environments, travel time can be a groups killer. For instance, the average commute time where I live (Northern Virginia) is about an hour each way. Adding another meeting with travel time on top of that can be a huge hindrance. Online groups eliminates the travel time.
4. The total meeting time is shortened and cost reduced. Because travel time is eliminated, the total meeting time is shortened, making it easier for people to commit to a group. Cost of Zoom for each group, max $20 a month.
5. Childcare becomes so much easier. Unless your small group meets on Sunday morning at church when children’s activities are going on, childcare for young families can be a deal breaker for in-person groups. Gumbel shared about a single mom that was able to join an online group precisely because it was online and she didn’t have to try and arrange childcare for her kids.
6. The conversation flows better because everyone knows each other’s names. Even in groups that have met for awhile, people aren’t confident that they know everyone’s names. This can lead to reduced interaction out of fear of getting someone’s name wrong. When you’re on an online group meeting like Zoom, everyone’s name appears by their screen. As simple as that sounds, this is actually a big deal. Everyone knows everyone’s name!
7. There’s an easier out if you don’t like the group. People like to have an exit strategy before they try something new (like a small group). Think about the hurdles facing someone debating whether or not to try out a small group for the first time: they’re walking into an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people. If they don’t like the group, they’re stuck there at least for the rest of the meeting, longer if they feel a social obligation to continue. With online meetings, there’s an easier out: just get off the call. This easier out actually incentivizes people to try something new.
8. People tend to be more open online than in person. Call this the social media effect. Have you ever noticed how people tend to share more openly (even when they shouldn’t) online? It’s as if the screen gives them a sense of transparency where they can share how they really feel. This works for online small groups as well. Gumbel shared in his podcast interview that after leading in-person groups for decades, he was shocked at just how quickly his new online group shared and how quickly they went deep.
9. Group dropout rates are reduced. A final positive aspect that Gumbel noted was that in his short time leading online groups, the dropout rates seem to have reduced. In any in-person group you start, the number you start with is hardly ever the number you finish with. It’s too easy for people to talk themselves out of getting dressed up, getting back in their car after a long day’s work to go to small group. If you’re not feeling well, if you’re got a lot to do, if childcare falls through (or any number of other things), you miss the group. With an online group, people tend to stick longer, leading to reduced dropout rates.
Article by Josh Daffern in Patheos (www.patheos.com) 9 Reasons Why Online Groups May Actually Be Better than In-Person Small Groups.
God is in control of all events in His world. Covid 19 did not take Him by surprise so we need to ask what is God doing and how can we get in step with Him. We are meant to be overcomers and game changers. We know that in the last days, church will be as it was in the Book of Acts, all believers involved in the Great Commission. As Nickey Gumbel has found Zoom Home Group meetings work so let us learn from his experience.
CHURCHES UNDER PERSECUTION
What will churches do as persecution intensifies exactly as prophesied in God’s Word? Sadly, we already know, the majority will compromise with the world and its values. Most of the major denominational churches have already accepted homosexuality, transgender and gay marriage.
We can learn from the past; during the days of Nazi Germany there arose a Confessing Church Movement that separated from the churches that became the religious arm of the Fascist Nazi socialist movement. Of the 18,000 pastors in Germany during that time (1933- 1945) less than 5,000 were aligned with the Confessing Church which came under intense persecution.
Hence, only a remnant held fast to the biblical position, with most of the churches conforming due to political and societal pressure. Unfortunately, this demonstrates that when push comes to shove, a large percentage of pastors, churches and so-called Christians will bow to pressure and allow the norms of culture to become their credo for Christianity.
Hitler said, “You can do anything you want with pastors, they will submit. They are insignificant little people, submissive as dogs and they will sweat with embarrassment when you talk to them” (Bonhoeffer: Pastor, Martyr, Prophet, Spy, Eric Metaxas, 180). This sounds like some of the contemporary pastors in Western culture who always acquiesce to cultural “group think.”
We see this in churches in the USA, my own country Australia, and beyond. With the accelerated pace of the attack on religious liberty today, there will develop a great divide in the church between confessing churches and compromising churches similar to what happened in Nazi Germany. This will not be a divide based on denominational affiliation but based on the degree of loyalty to biblical fidelity. It is sad but true that more and more so called Christians will compromise core biblical values and standards rather than be stigmatized or persecuted and lose influence in society.
In John 12:42-43 we see that many contemporaries of Jesus believed in Him but would not confess Him because they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.
“Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.” John 12:42-34
JUDAEO-CHRISTIAN FOUNDATIONS FOR RULE OF LAW AND DEMOCRATIC INSTITUTIONS
The Bible has been historically recognized as the most important book for the development of both the rule of law and democratic institutions in the Western world. However, we have seen over these last decades a deep erosion of individual rights, with the growth of state power over the life and liberty of individuals. The Judeo-Christian foundations of the rule of law in the West: a legacy of liberty and resistance against tyranny have been incessantly eroded since the acceptance of evolutionary belief, which was working its insidious influence even before Charles Darwin published his Origin of Species in 1859.6 His writings replaced, in the minds of those who accepted his ideas, the fundamental and unique concept of divine creation as revealed in Genesis. Creation as outlined in Scripture was exchanged for ideas of undirected processes of evolution, involving death of the unfit through millions of years of struggle and violence—the very antithesis of the “very good” origins revealed in Scripture. Evolution prepared the seedbed for the fruit that was to eventually grow within culture—abortions are intentional deaths (murder) and the average annual death toll of unborn babies, astonishingly, now exceeds 56 million. The abandonment of biblically based principles is almost complete. We now live in a post-Christian culture. The good news is that the Bible reveals the events unfolding are exactly what Jesus said will happen prior to His return to earth to rule and reign from Jerusalem.
PROPHECY BY DAVID WILKERSON IN 1986
“I see a plague coming on the world and the bars and church and government will shut down. The plague will hit New York City and shake it like it has never been shaken. The plague is going to force prayerless believers into radical prayer and into their Bibles and repentance will be the cry from the man of God in the pulpit. And out of it will come a third Great Awakening that will sweep America and the world.”
David Wilkerson describes perfectly what we now call the COVID-19 pandemic. How could he have known, and how could this spark a Third Great Awakening? Is it possible God is up to something?
Wilkerson says to each of us, “You need to hear directly from God, what is God saying to you. God will speak to you and encourage you despite the chaotic world circumstances surrounding you.”
The end times church will understand that each member has a calling from God to make disciples to share their testimony with non believers, to preach the good news of Jesus Christ.
CHINA IN THE END TIMES
Chinese President Xi Jinping called Palestinian Authority (PA) President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday to voice support for the creation of a Palestine state.
Xi’s call likely signals that China is siding with the Palestinians against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s desire to extend Israeli sovereignty over areas of Judea and Samaria as laid out in the Trump administration’s Mideast plan.
The timing of the call raises questions as Chinese companies recently lost multi million-dollar bids for infrastructure projects in Israel, partly due to the U.S. warning Israel against giving China too much influence. Seeing Israel choose the U.S. in the struggle between the superpowers, China may be seeking to gain leverage with Israel’s enemies.
Last week, China signed a $400 billion accord with Iran in both the civilian and military sectors.
Openly defying U.S. sanctions on Tehran, China committed to build dozens of infrastructure projects throughout Iran, including ports and train lines, and integrate the Islamic Republic into its 5G telecommunications network.
The two countries will also tighten their military ties, boosting intelligence cooperation, sharing weapons development and increasing joint naval exercises. In exchange, Iran will sell China oil at below-cost prices for the next 25 years.
‘Wall Street firms have been examining the implications of the reversal of a decades-long effort to form a more symbiotic relationship between the world’s two largest economies. One consistent view is the world will be far more polarized, with economies and companies gravitating toward either a Chinese or an American orbit.’ The events in the Middle East outlined above indicate this view is playing out right now. it looks as though we’re headed for a split world. One that will revolve around two independent spheres of power and influence. Each with its own winners and losers. The world order really is shifting. Both the US and China are setting the stage for a huge showdown. One that will force much of the world to pick a side.
The Bible reveals that the final battle in the last year before Jesus returns to liberate Israel and begin His Millennial reign on earth involves the kings from the east. The alignment we are seeing taking place now with China and the Muslim nations against Israel is a necessary step in the fulfillment of this prophecy.
“The sixth angel poured out his bowl on the great river Euphrates, and its water was dried up, to prepare the way for the kings from the east. And I saw, coming out of the mouth of the dragon and out of the mouth of the beast and out of the mouth of the false prophet, three unclean spirits like frogs. For they are demonic spirits, performing signs, who go abroad to the kings of the whole world, to assemble them for battle on the great day of God the Almighty.” Revelation 16:12-14The Day of the Lord
WANT TO BE USED BY GOD? FOLLOW MICHAEL TODD’S LEAD
More good sense from Michael Todd on church. Michael says many house churches stream Transformation Church’s services and use them to supplement small-group discussions. He’s very encouraged by this development, saying it reminds him of both the early church and Netflix all at once.
“It takes me back to Acts 2:42, where people gathered in homes, shared what they had, read the apostles’ teachings and talked about it,” Todd says. “Well, that’s what they’re doing on social media. They’re sharing about it. Friends are finding out about it. … We’re not facilitating it or doing anything. The reason Netflix blows up is because they provide content, but you decide how you want to watch it and how you want to use it. And as we’ve done that, we’ve seen salvation skyrocket. We’ve seen people get baptized. We’ve seen people go from being drug addicts or in different lifestyles or shacking up to being convicted or getting married.”
Transformation Church has been particularly effective at reaching a diverse cross-section of young Millennials and Generation Z, a group often described by demographers as uninterested in religion. Todd disputes that point; he says what they are really uninterested in are frauds.
“They’re leaving the church because the church, in many respects, is a big business and a facade,” Todd says. “That’s why they’re leaving. This is the most authentic, self-aware generation that we’ve had in a long time, and they can smell a fake from a mile away. I think that’s why I’m appealing to this generation: Because they see it’s real. It’s authentic. If churches and leaders would value authenticity more, their Millennial and Gen Z attendance would go up tremendously.”
Put simply, if young adults are going to do something, they want to be 100% all-in, without any reservations. They don’t want to play church politics, pretend to be someone else or compartmentalize Christianity to Sunday meetings. They want to be free to be fully who God created them to be and hold nothing back in pursuit of Jesus. Because of that, Todd believes they can represent a threat to some “old guard” Christian leaders, but that they can also change the world for God.
“Nobody can tell me Millennials are not interested in God,” Todd says. “They’re not interested in a big business with no power. They can’t do that. …These young people? If they’re committed to something, they’re getting a tattoo of it, they’re changing their license plates to “SOLD OUT,” they’re telling all their friends. And so, it’s a bigger decision because they can’t do anything halfway.”
Todd says the beautiful thing about Transformation Church is that it’s as diverse as the kingdom of God. Whether young or old, digital or in-person, black or white, the movement is united around loving and obeying Jesus. And Todd says it’s his honor to serve as their pastor.
LIVING ETERNAL NOW 