|City on a Hill - Writings for Refuge

One of the hardest concepts regarding the 2nd coming of Jesus for me to wrap my mind around is this: it will always require faith to see His coming. Matthew 24:37-39 But as the days of Noah were, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. For as in the days before the flood, they were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and did not know until the flood came and took them all away, so also will the coming of the Son of Man be. Many assume there will be a moment when the return of Jesus will be obvious by the signs of His coming. This gives license to take a "wait and see" approach to the evolution of the signs. But a "wait and see" approach is a very bad idea. Waiting to engage in the return of Jesus....to participate in His plans to prepare the earth for His return... has never been an option for true disciples. Those who "wait and see," those who argue that there is no evidence of his imminent

Below is one of the most sobering passages regarding judgment touching God's people. This prophecy has a dual fulfillment: the immediate fulfillment that Isaiah warned of and Jeremiah saw, but the fullness of this passage comes in the last seven years leading up to the return of Jesus. Isaiah 22:1-14 The burden against the Valley of Vision. What ails you now, that you have all gone up to the housetops, You who are full of noise, A tumultuous city, a joyous city? Your slain men are not slain with the sword, Nor dead in battle. All your rulers have fled together; They are captured by the archers. All who are found in you are bound together; They have fled from afar. Therefore I said, “Look away from me, I will weep bitterly; Do not labor to comfort me Because of the plundering of the daughter of my people.” For it is a day of trouble and treading down and perplexity By the Lord God of hosts In the Valley of Vision— Breaking down the walls And of crying to the mountain. Elam bore the

If you value what the world values, you will get what the world gets. If you value what Jesus values, you will get what Jesus gets. Romans 8:14-18 For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us. The "suffering" Jesus and His disciples talked about is entirely related to living "sanctified"...set apart from the world. This is a necessary experience for every son or daughter of the kingdom. It is painful to live outside of the value system the world holds. The condemnati

John 14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. Encountering this person changes the facts, as I see them. There is a difference between facts and Truth. Seeing a fact is like witnessing a car accident from many angles. From one side I might see the car halt to a stop, from the other, I might see the fender get crushed, and from another the car might just look normal, even though an accident just took place! You might think you know the truth about some particular happening. From my perspective, I might see something different. We might BOTH see a piece of Truth, or we might not. There is a test: does your belief of what is true draw you closer to the one who is named TRUTH or does it give you comfort to keep Him and you at the same distance? Truth is so attractive to those who truly love Him! You don't have to love Him, but if you do, even the overwhelmingly powerful...dreadful...aspects of Him are wonderous: Revel

Four in the blood, two in the spirit, one in the Glory The Book of the Revelation of Jesus Christ contains the most information regarding the process Jesus has selected to return in power and begin making all things new in order to prepare the earth for the return of the Father. God has declared that what was very good in Genesis 1:31, mankind with God, face to face, on earth, is going to be restored for anyone who wants it. If you want it, all you have to do is participate in the rescue operation, beginning with counting Jesus’ perfect sacrifice of His just and perfect life as your own, in exchange for your sacrifice of a less than perfect life that He wants to make His own. This is a beautiful exchange, and a really good deal for mankind! Jesus is in the process of making all things new, including everyone who wants to be made new. If you don’t want to be made new, you don’t have to be, but only those made new can survive the brightness of His presence coming to earth. His presenc

Luke 23:26-31 Now as they led Him away, they laid hold of a certain man, Simon a Cyrenian, who was coming from the country, and on him they laid the cross that he might bear it after Jesus. And a great multitude of the people followed Him, and women who also mourned and lamented Him. But Jesus, turning to them, said, “Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for Me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For indeed the days are coming in which they will say, ‘Blessed are the barren, wombs that never bore, and breasts which never nursed!’ Then they will begin ‘to say to the mountains, “Fall on us!” and to the hills, “Cover us!” ’ For if they do these things in the green wood, what will be done in the dry?” Sometimes it is tempting to isolate the stories in the Bible. We are often tempted to see the life of Jesus as a series of scenes with a clear "cut" between each episode. Talking with a friend yesterday who had just returned from Israel, he was explaining to me that one o

I strongly believe we are at the beginning of the "evil time" so thoroughly described in the Bible. Evil is the absence of God. It isn't a force equal and opposite to God. Darkness is the absence of light, cold is the absence of heat, and evil is the absence of God. Because mankind was given dominion over the earth, our choices to agree with, or disagree with, God are given great dignity. This means “everybody gets what they want” in the end. This means righteousness AND evil are both increasing. One aspect of the evil time coming is famine. David prophesied about the evil time coming. He said the prescription to survive the evil time begins with trust in God that manifests itself in the form of generosity: Psalms 37:18-23 The Lord knows the days of the upright, And their inheritance shall be forever. They shall not be ashamed in the evil time, And in the days of famine they shall be satisfied. But the wicked shall perish; And the enemies of the Lord , Like the splendor o