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The book “Signs of Hope: Ways to Survive in an Unfriendly World,” just received a five star rating from Reader’s Favorite Books website. Check it out at: http://www.readersfavorite.com/review/5735. You have to go down a little to find it. You can order this book right here on this site for a nice savings.
In the retail stores it is $19.99. But if you order from this site it is only $15.99 plus the shipping is cut in half as well. A total savings of over $6.00.
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Today I have an actual chapter from the book. We often get lost when we travel and need a GPS to help us find our way. God is also our GPS.
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Chapter 47
Need Directions?
The salvation of the righteous comes from the Lord; He is their stronghold in time of trouble.
Psalm 37:39
Charlotte and I were riding home from the airport with some friends after traveling with them. My friend had aGPS(Global Positioning Satellite) system in his car. Among the hundreds of satellites orbiting the earth (do they have traffic cops up there directing all of these satellites?), at least 24 of them are used just for this purpose.
GPSis the most amazing technology I’ve ever seen. My friend had his set to show every inch we traveled—I mean every inch. You could see the car moving down the I-5 freeway, and it even showed what you might see on either side of the road. It showed a lake coming up on the right, and sure enough there was a lake on the right when we got there. All the way home that device showed me the landscape on either side of the car. I didn’t check to see if it showed where we live, but I’m sure it could have. I definitely felt like “Big brother was watching”!
We also have aGPSsystem with God. It is called God’s Prophetic Signs. Just like we can trust theGPSsystem in our car, we can also trust God to guide us down the right path.
One example of God’s Prophetic Sign—His GPSsystem—is found in Hebrews 9:28: “He [Christ] will appear a second time … to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.” It doesn’t say He might appear or that He’s thinking about appearing. It says He will appear—just like that lake appeared along I-5. This is a Prophetic Sign for us to cling to and be waiting for in excitement.
You want some more of God’s Prophetic Signs? Try this one: Numbers 24:6–9: “Like valleys they [the children ofIsrael] spread out … Water will flow from their buckets; their seed will have abundant water. Their king will be greater than Agag; their kingdom will be exalted. God brought them out ofEgypt; they have the strength of a wild ox. They devour hostile nations and break their bones in pieces; with their arrows they pierce them. Like a lion they crouch and lie down, like a lioness—who dares to rouse them? May those who bless you be blessed and those who curse you be cursed!”
As I type this,Israelis battlingLebanonbecause the group called Hezbollah kidnapped some of their soldiers. At the same timeIsraelis fighting the Hamas inPalestinebecause they killed some of the Israelite soldiers. There is a full-scale war going on with many people dying each day.Israelbecomes very aggressive when provoked. We were told this clear back in the Old Testament book of Numbers!
Romans15:12says, “And again, Isaiah says, ‘The Root of Jesse will spring up, one who will arise to rule over the nations; the Gentiles will hope in him.’”
Now let’s go way back to Isaiah and see that, yes it does say in Isaiah 11:10: “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse [literally, the Root of Jesse]; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit”—or as another version states it: “will be a banner of salvation to all the world.” The prophecy is about Jesus, who came from the family (root) of Jesse. Certainly Jesus’ life bore fruit, and He became the banner of salvation to all the world.
How’s that for an easyGPSto follow? We will never get lost with such profound words to go by.
Hold on, I’m not done yet. Here are some moreGPSdirections for you from Matthew 24:6–8:
“You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.”
Jesus is talking there about what is happening right now—today—in our world. There have been great earthquakes with deadly tsunamis killing thousands in one day. A record amount of hurricanes have pounded our nation, killing many people. There have been wars all over the world—not just between nations, but between political groups within a country. TheMiddle Eastis a battleground every day with conflict inIraq,Afghanistan,Israel,LebanonandPalestine. And there are countries where thousands of people are starving to death each day.
Let’s go back into the Old Testament again and read in Zechariah 12:3, where God says, “I will makeJerusaleman immovable rock for all the nations. All who try to move it will injure themselves.”
As I write this, the whole world is trying to getIsraelto stop bombingLebanon.Israelis not listening. They will not stop until the enemy is destroyed.
Let’s switch gears a little and talk about false prophets and demons. All around us has been a sharp rise in Satan worship, and people who claim to be a messenger from God. Matthew 24:11–12 warned us about this two millennia ago: “And many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold.”
Sound familiar? Have you read this morning’s paper? Let me just give you some headlines and articles from my paper this morning:
- Snipers arrested and charged with two first-degree murders and 13 counts of attempted murder.
- A stepfather is charged in the death of a four-year-old boy. The boy had traumatic injuries and had signs of trauma on various parts of his body and head.
- Ex-police officer charged with sex abuse.
- Angry rioters started fires, broke windows, looted, attacked police and threw rocks. Why? Because a train was late.
- A three-year-old boy inTokyo,Japanwas left in an unwanted baby drop box.
I think that is enough to give you the picture. It doesn’t take a brain surgeon to see that sin is having a free ride right now. These incidents are often met with apathy because we hear these and similar stories every day. The laws so often seem to protect the guilty. Jails are full, so they let criminals free because of lack of space. A large segment of our population has no respect for the law.
People have a tremendous love for money, and we were told that would happen too. In 2 Timothy 3:1–5, it says that among other undesirable traits, people will be lovers of money.
All of the things that are happening in theMiddle Eastand toIsraelspecifically are fulfilling prophecy. God will intervene right at the time He has determined. He still loves His people, and He will not let them suffer more than they can handle. God does that with all of His children.
God has made it perfectly clear how we can become children of god. There are no secret meanings or clues—it’s right there in the open: “Believe in Me and you will be saved.” No further steps are needed.
Take that one step if you haven’t already. You don’t know the day or time that Jesus will come again, but with all of the prophecy that has been fulfilled and is being fulfilled as we speak, things seem to be nearing completion, so I suggest you take that step soon.
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation;
the old has gone, the new has come!
2 Corinthians 5:17
Watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that
are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites.
By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naïve people.
Romans 16:17–18
Further Adventures
I suggest you read Revelation to understand more of the end times. It can be very hard to understand at times. There was a lot I didn’t “get.”
I found one of those “for Dummies” kind of books very helpful. (Yes, a retired teacher still needs education.) It is called: Revelation: God’s Word for Biblically-Inept, by Daymond R. Duck, Copyright 1998 by Starburst, Inc.1
My name could replace the term “biblically-inept” in the series title. Even though I didn’t see my name on the cover, I bought it anyway. It breaks down each chapter and verse of the book of Revelation and puts them into words you and I can understand. It gets very specific about theMiddle East, the Rapture, Armageddon and many other confusing things that will happen in the end times.
I learned a great deal by studying biblical revelation with this book by my side. I highly recommend doing so.
Something to Ponder
Isn’t it funny how people search for meaning of life and what they are on earth for, but they don’t use the one book that tells them everything they need to know?
