Rumblings of Things To Come. Personal Thoughts

[quietthinker]

...and the gift of the Spirit to bring things back to memory. God will be communicating his word to us supernaturally. This will be a big part of small meeting. Along with lots of prayer for needs that can't easily be met the way they used to be when things were good. And there will be answers!

And may I point out, it's funny how some, if not most Christians think in terms of sharing the gospel. Since my gifts do not lean on the evangelism side of things I'm always thinking about already saved people and their well-being. Small groups are going to be about sustaining each other in the salvation we already possess. We'll be 'having church', you know, singing songs, praying, encouraging each other, discussing scripture, but without all the distracting liturgy, and it will be participatory - "When you come together, everyone has a psalm or a teaching, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. All of these must be done to build up the church." 1 Corinthians 14:26.

it's a curious thing that God requires begging from it seems lots of people in the hope that he might give them a reply.

 

[Ferris Bueller]

it's a curious thing that God requires begging from it seems lots of people in the hope that he might give them a reply.

He seems to respond very well to desperation.
The casual 'just because' kinds of requests, not so much, in my experience anyway.

 

[Mantis]

A friend of mine gave me a book about 2 days ago. When he handed it to me, I experienced a flash of revelation... libraries will also be a thing of the past. The way that we display and store collections of fiction and non-fiction material will change to reflect our changing environment.

Start collecting bibles….

 

[GTW27]

I was thinking about something similar the other day. Whether its better to have a hard copy of the Bible, or rely on online Bibles. I prefer of course hard copy for reading, but for study, online resources are brilliant. But we all know the time is coming when any resource or Bible translation that disagrees with the apostate church/secular union of the future will be outlawed. Such online resources will be shut down, and our homes searched for "dissident propaganda" and destroyed. Book burning will be making a comeback I think. The only recourse we will have in such circumstances is our memory. The old fashioned memory verse techniques and learning of scripture by heart I believe is now essential in securing a foundation for sharing the gospel in times when doing so may cost your life.

Blessings in Christ Jesus! Jesus said, "The Kingdom of God is within you" In this, is The Word of God, as well. From the word "In" to the word "Amen". When reading The Word of God, It is the same Word of God within, with all who are born from above. They will burn the books, and yet, The Word of God will remain. For, "The Word of God endures forever" "Heaven and earth may pass away but My Words will never pass away."

 

[Heart2Soul]

I was thinking about something similar the other day. Whether its better to have a hard copy of the Bible, or rely on online Bibles. I prefer of course hard copy for reading, but for study, online resources are brilliant. But we all know the time is coming when any resource or Bible translation that disagrees with the apostate church/secular union of the future will be outlawed. Such online resources will be shut down, and our homes searched for "dissident propaganda" and destroyed. Book burning will be making a comeback I think. The only recourse we will have in such circumstances is our memory. The old fashioned memory verse techniques and learning of scripture by heart I believe is now essential in securing a foundation for sharing the gospel in times when doing so may cost your life.

This brought to my mind the prophesy in Amos..
Amos 8 (KJV)
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
¹¹ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
¹² And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

However, this could also refer to the time some refer to as the "dark age"....the time where the prophets ceased speaking in the OT until the time of Jesus appearing in the NT...I read that this was around 400 years of time that God did not speak to His people through His prophets....

 

[Bob Estey]

Not in a small group.
You do that on your own in your own life.

Sometimes a group can do more than an individual. Our church has a food pantry, and poor people come on Tuesdays to get food. I don't think I could do that all by myself.

 

[Bob Estey]

Yes. The same thing is being referred to there: Persecution. As He states a few verses earlier:

21 “Now brother will deliver up brother to death, and a father his child; and children will rise up against parents and cause them to be put to death. 22 And you will be hated by all for My name’s sake. But he who endures to the end will be saved. 23 When they persecute you in this city, flee to another. For assuredly, I say to you, you will not have gone through the cities of Israel before the Son of Man comes. 24 “A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master. 25 It is enough for a disciple that he be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more will they call those of his household! 26 Therefore do not fear them. For there is nothing covered that will not be revealed, and hidden that will not be known

I'm just saying I think the Lord wants us to be willing to acknowledge him publicly. We do that when we go to church services.

 

[Hidden In Him]

I'm just saying I think the Lord wants us to be willing to acknowledge him publicly. We do that when we go to church services.

Alright. I don't have much problem with that. :)

I think we also acknowledge Him publicly when we profess our faith in the public arena, like in the workplace. I have some friends that play a radio at work, and on nights when I'm there at least, they put it on a Christian radio station in deference to me : )

 

[amadeus]

...Book burning will be making a comeback I think. The only recourse we will have in such circumstances is our memory. The old fashioned memory verse techniques and learning of scripture by heart I believe is now essential in securing a foundation for sharing the gospel in times when doing so may cost your life.

While book burning may well make a comeback, memorization is certainly not our only recourse. Our recourse is God Himself as it always has been. Memorization of scripture can certainly be a good thing, but we should not presume God is so limited as that. Such a presumption can be another way to put God in a box. God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice, but was that God's only way of communicating with men?

 

[Hidden In Him]

While book burning may well make a comeback, memorization is certainly not our only recourse. Our recourse is God Himself as it always has been. Memorization of scripture can certainly be a good thing, but we should not presume God is so limited as that. Such a presumption can be another way to put God in a box. God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice, but was that God's only way of communicating with men?

Yes, and the scriptures make references to the Spirit bringing "all things back to your remembrance," and "giving you the words to speak at the appropriate time." I think the better thing is to rely on walking closely to the Lord so that you can hear His voice when He speaks.

Not that this has any relation to what Backlit said, but I was watching an old Waltons show my wife had on the other day, and one of the children did something wrong and the father told him to go read 100 Bible verses. I thought, "Ok, now that's not brilliant. Using the reading of scripture as a punishment; not a great motivational tool for when they are older."

Nothing against the Waltons, but if that was actually the sort of trick parents used to pull back then, it's no wonder so few know the word of God today. They were trained to hate it, not love it.

 

[amadeus]

Yes, and the scriptures make references to the Spirit bringing "all things back to your remembrance," and "giving you the words to speak at the appropriate time." I think the better thing is to rely on walking closely to the Lord so that you can hear His voice when He speaks.

Not that this has any relation to what Backlit said, but I was watching an old Waltons show my wife had on the other day, and one of the children did something wrong and the father told him to go read 100 Bible verses. I thought, "Ok, now that's not brilliant. Using the reading of scripture as a punishment; not a great motivational tool for when they are older."

Nothing against the Waltons, but if that was actually the sort of trick parents used to pull back then, it's no wonder so few know the word of God today. They were trained to hate it, not love it.

Amen! I started to tell a true story similar to the Walton story, but I could not do it... I will say that people really do work that way at times, not carefully weighing all of costs versus benefits involved.

 

[farouk]

This brought to my mind the prophesy in Amos..
Amos 8 (KJV)
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
¹¹ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
¹² And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

However, this could also refer to the time some refer to as the "dark age"....the time where the prophets ceased speaking in the OT until the time of Jesus appearing in the NT...I read that this was around 400 years of time that God did not speak to His people through His prophets....

@Heart2Soul Malachi is a remarkable little prophecy written at a time of great apostasy in Israel, but when there was a faithful remnant (Malachi 3.16) ... :)

 

[farouk]

Start collecting bibles….

@Mantis Great to store in the heart by faith what's first on the shelf by way of Bible copies... :)

 

[Rita]

It's a wave mixed with lava. The sound is like millions of horses, rumbling under and through the whole earth....pray. "Prayer can change the course of history" [M.G.]

"If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will heal their land."

This verse was laid on my heart right at the beginning of the coronvirus outbreak, and it’s been one that keeps coming to mind. ‘ If my people ‘, not the world but ‘ His people ‘ ………pray, seek and change. ….

 

[farouk]

This verse was laid on my heart right at the beginning of the coronvirus outbreak, and it’s been one that keeps coming to mind. ‘ If my people ‘, not the world but ‘ His people ‘ ………pray, seek and change. ….

@Rita The Abba, Father (Romans 8) impulse is something the world does not have; what a privilege is ours to use that resource! :)

 

[Heart2Soul]

@Mantis Great to store in the heart by faith what's first on the shelf by way of Bible copies... :)

If you study the history of the KJV Bible before it was put together in one book the priest would read from the scrolls scriptures to the congregation...after the sermon they were kept back in the Vatican library....so essentially there wasn't a scroll for every member of the church...they had to retain and share the gospel orally....
When Jesus taught the multitude they heard and then would share it back home with family and friends....
We are blessed to have the historical accounts of the lives of God's people from both old and new testament available to read in our own home.
The books of the Bible credits certain authors as the one who wrote it...it wasn't written as it was happening...no it was orally passed to them or they were present themselves and recorded the events.

 

[Brakelite]

This brought to my mind the prophesy in Amos..
Amos 8 (KJV)
¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯¯
¹¹ Behold, the days come, saith the Lord GOD, that I will send a famine in the land, not a famine of bread, nor a thirst for water, but of hearing the words of the LORD:
¹² And they shall wander from sea to sea, and from the north even to the east, they shall run to and fro to seek the word of the LORD, and shall not find it.

However, this could also refer to the time some refer to as the "dark age"....the time where the prophets ceased speaking in the OT until the time of Jesus appearing in the NT...I read that this was around 400 years of time that God did not speak to His people through His prophets....

There was a scarcity of sound teaching during the dark ages. Any scripture written in a local language ( that is other than the official Latin) was outlawed, and anyone possessing scripture, even short abridged gospel messages, were imprisoned and 'reeducated'. Or worse. People were starving for the word.
There's some wonderful stories of missionaries who would copy passages of scripture on paper by hand, hide them in clothing... Trade goods... And hand them on to the people in market places etc. This practise was widespread and the Papacy warred against these people relentlessly and thousands lost their lives over many centuries... But many also came to a knowledge of the truth. Such stories of the work of the true church during those dark days isn't generally known. They were heroes, but accused and abused by Rome as 'heretics' and schismatics. Much like the way people are accused today...."oh, another conspiracy theorist'...'more anti Catholic lies'. Etc etc.

 

[Heart2Soul]

There was a scarcity of sound teaching during the dark ages. Amy scripture written in a local language ( that is other than the official Latin) was outlawed, and anyone possessing scripture, even short abridged gospel messages, were imprisoned and 'reeducated'. Or worse. People were starving for the word.
There's some wonderful stories of missionaries who would copy passages of scripture on paper by hand, hide them in clothing... Trade goods... And hand them on to the people in market places etc. This hector was widespread and the Papacy warred against these people relentlessly and thousands lost their lives over many centuries... But many also came to a knowledge of the truth. Such stories of the work of the true church during those dark days isn't generally known. They were heroes, but accused and abused by Rome as 'heretics' and schismatics. Much like the way people are accused today...."oh, another conspiracy theorist'...'more anti Catholic lies'. Etc etc.

Very interesting....thanks for sharing.

 

[Brakelite]

While book burning may well make a comeback, memorization is certainly not our only recourse. Our recourse is God Himself as it always has been. Memorization of scripture can certainly be a good thing, but we should not presume God is so limited as that. Such a presumption can be another way to put God in a box. God spoke to Elijah in a still small voice, but was that God's only way of communicating with men?

I appreciate your view, and agree. God has brought to my mind scriptures on many occasions in times of need. But we must remember always that scripture is the final authority and arbiter of truth. Always.
Reying on the 'Spirit' is essential... But the spirit will not lead us in any other direction other than what scripture testifies to. Trusting in the spirit sounds good, but how many people have been led astray, even to their deaths, by men and women who were claiming to be led of the "spirit".

 

[Brakelite]

Yes, and the scriptures make references to the Spirit bringing "all things back to your remembrance," and "giving you the words to speak at the appropriate time." I think the better thing is to rely on walking closely to the Lord so that you can hear His voice when He speaks.

Not that this has any relation to what Backlit said, but I was watching an old Waltons show my wife had on the other day, and one of the children did something wrong and the father told him to go read 100 Bible verses. I thought, "Ok, now that's not brilliant. Using the reading of scripture as a punishment; not a great motivational tool for when they are older."

Nothing against the Waltons, but if that was actually the sort of trick parents used to pull back then, it's no wonder so few know the word of God today. They were trained to hate it, not love it.

Reminds me of the priest of my childhood telling me at confession to pray '10 Hail Mary's' and whatever as 'penance'.