General Articles

Your First Love :: By Nathele Graham

Published on: by RR10

“And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment”
(Mark 12:30).

The more you study Scripture, the more insight you will gain into the heart of God. Is He your first love? Does it matter to you if you please Him or not? It should. Serving Him on earth is just a foreshadowing of serving Him in the afterlife. Serve Him with joy!

Let me ask this question. Do you love Him? What do you love about Him? Do you even know what He did for you? He humbled Himself and gave His life. He took your sin, which separates you from God, so that you can spend eternity with Him. It’s easy to say, “I’m a Christian,” but it’s not as easy to let our life speak for itself. Your life should reflect your faith. Eternity is just that… eternal. You have to choose now if you will spend it in Heaven or in Hell. Just remember, it’s your choice to spend eternity with God or in the lake of fire. He doesn’t want anyone to perish. If you have chosen Christ for salvation, show your love for Him by living for Him.

The Book of Revelation is very interesting. Chapter 4 begins with the Rapture of all Christians, then goes on to describe a beautiful place with God. Prior to that, Chapters 2 and 3 contain seven letters that Jesus dictated to John. These letters were written to real congregations that existed at the time, and when all seven letters are studied in order, they describe seven eras of church history, written in advance. They are a prophecy that is being fulfilled daily. Each era of Christianity faced difficulties, and there’s actually a little of each one in every era. The first letter was addressed to the congregation in Ephesus.

“Unto the angel of the church of Ephesus write; These things saith he that holdeth the seven stars in his right hand, who walketh in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks:” (Revelation 2:1).

Revelation can be intimidating to read, but that’s mostly because we forget to study all of Scripture. In this case, we only need to look back to chapter 1 to see that it’s Jesus who holds the seven stars and walks amidst the candlesticks.

What era in history does the congregation in Ephesus symbolize? It’s the first letter and represents the first era of Christianity. Most of the first Christians had come from a Jewish background and faced overwhelming persecution. When persecution in Jerusalem became intense, many fled to Gentile cities like Ephesus. The Gentile population there was very pagan in their lifestyles; they worshipped gods and goddesses who were, in fact, demonic and embraced horrendous sin. As the Spirit-filled Christians took up residence in the various cities, their love and devotion to Christ showed these Hell-bound pagans the love of the True God. Then the Apostle Paul came to town, and his mission work there established Christianity in the hearts of all the people of Ephesus.

It must have been a challenge to live a God-honoring life while dwelling amongst the demonic and sin-filled lifestyle prevalent in Ephesus, but those first Christians made a difference there. The letter which Jesus wrote commended them.

“I know thy works, and thy labour, and thy patience, and how thou canst not bear them which are evil: and thou hast tried them which say they are apostles, and are not, and has found them liars: and hast borne, and has patience, and for my name’s sake has laboured, and hast not fainted”
(Revelation 2:2-3).

This reveals a couple of very important points. Jesus is watching us. He knows what we are all doing. He sees if you are patiently working to advance His truth among the unbelieving world around you. He knows if you are appalled by the evil that is everywhere or if you are dabbling in the sin. Do you follow every new trend within Christian circles? “Christian Yoga” (which is an oxymoron), contemplative prayer (not acceptable), New Age (ugh), and purpose-driven foolishness (run from it) are all trends that have no place in Christian circles. Put these and all wrong teachings to the test. Use Scripture to discern God’s truth. Jesus knows if you adhere to His truth or not.

Jesus saw that those early Christians had faith that wouldn’t fail. Some of them may have been amongst the crowd yelling “Crucify Him” when Jesus was on trial, but they also may have heard Peter speak on the day of Pentecost and repented. Peter preached a very convicting sermon that day, filled with the love of Christ. Peter’s words weren’t “seeker friendly” but spoke truth and touched the hearts of at least 3,000 people who were immediately baptized. These people fell in love with Jesus. Why? I would say that they realized who He was… God incarnate… and that they had committed great sin against God. Yet, Peter said they could repent and be forgiven. They realized that God had shown amazing love by stepping into His creation to spread the Gospel and forgive sinners. What wonderful love that is.

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: not of works, lest any man should boast”
(Ephesians 2:8-9).

That love is still available to us today. The secular world cannot understand, but Christians should certainly understand God’s love. We are sinners and make errors, but our sins have been forgiven.

“We love him, because he first loved us”
(1 John 4:19).

Everything we do should reflect Christ. We cannot work for our salvation, but works should be a result of our faith. Works don’t bring faith, but faith should be seen in works.

“Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works”
(James 2:17-18).

Our works should always bring glory to God.

As we read this letter to Ephesus, we might think that these early believers had it easy. Sure, they were persecuted, but Jesus saw their works and was pleased. They stood against evil and wouldn’t listen to false teachers. They were doing wonderful works for God. Yes, Jesus was watching.

“Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou has left thy first love”
(Revelation 2:4).

What was their first love? That love should be our first love today. Jesus. We can do all the great things we want, but unless we love Jesus and do all for Him, our faith is dead. There are ministries with a huge number of followers, but Jesus isn’t their first love. As long as the ministry is raking in lots of money, the leaders are happy. It doesn’t matter to them if they are preaching a different Gospel than found in Scripture. It doesn’t matter to them if the full counsel of God isn’t being taught or that Jesus is compromised. The goal is to make money. They have left their first love. Jesus. The Gospel they spread isn’t found in Scripture.

“But I fear, lest by any means, as the serpent beguiled Eve through his subtilty, so your minds should be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. For if he that cometh preacheth another Jesus, whom we have not preached, or if ye receive another spirit, which ye have not received, or another gospel, which ye have not accepted, ye might well bear with him”
(2 Corinthians 11:3-4). 

It’s easy to point fingers at these megachurches, but then we need to get the mote out of our own eye. We must examine our own life and our motives. Are we true to our first love? Do we fellowship with fellow believers only if it doesn’t interfere with what’s on television? Do you intend to study Scripture in the evening but can’t fit it in because you’re too tired? Although you can find time to read the newspaper or stop off at the bar on your way home from work, you can’t find time for God. That’s sad. You’ve left your first love.

Many Christians have left their first love. Notice Jesus says they “left.” It’s a choice. People choose to allow the world to come between them and God. We need to remind ourselves that Jesus first loved us, and we must choose to love Him better.

“Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent”
(Revelation 2:5). 

Think back to when you first met Jesus. You had a burden of sin that weighed you down. Were you happy? By the standards of the world, you probably were. Then, you heard and received the Gospel message. Maybe a preacher actually preached a sermon that didn’t tickle your ears and make you feel good about your sin. You were convicted, not condemned. You saw that your sin separated you from God, and you were on the broad road to Hell. Many people think Hell doesn’t exist, or they think it’s temporary and you can work your way out of it. Others think it’s a place where all of your unsaved friends gather for a good time of eternal fun and games. Scripture makes it clear that Hell does exist, and there is no fun there. Your choice must be made while living in this life; there’s no second chance. It’s a place of eternal torment with no partying.

Satan is a liar, but he is good at making the unbearable look appealing. Don’t believe the lies; believe the truth that God gives us in Scripture. When you come to the realization that God won’t send you to Hell but your own choices will, that’s the time you recognize that you’re a sinner in desperate need of Jesus for salvation. That’s when you need to repent.

“For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God”
(Romans 3:23).

Even though everyone has sinned, that doesn’t make sin acceptable. Jesus is our example, not worldly attitudes. All sin can be forgiven, but you have to repent. You need to change your mind about sin, and you will find forgiveness.

“Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God; to declare, I say, at this time his righteousness: that he might be just, and the justifier of him which believeth in Jesus”
(Romans 3:24-26).

Thank You, Jesus, for your love and forgiveness of sinners such as me. I do love You.

When you realize your sins are forgiven, your love for Jesus will cause you to experience great joy. The weight of sin was a load that caused great unhappiness, but when that load of sin was forgiven, the joy was indescribable. Most likely, you shared your joy with others and felt compassion for others. Then, time went on. The world began to beat you up again. Maybe you felt persecution just like the Ephesians. Maybe you stumbled a few times in your walk with Christ, and you “…left your first love.” It’s not too late to get back into a right walk with Christ. “…repent and do thy first works.” Study Scripture. You will find out that God is ready to forgive.

Our sin nature will always be a problem to us while living on this side of eternity, but Jesus loves us enough to have allowed Himself to be beaten, mocked, spit upon, and crucified in order to offer us salvation.

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God”
(John 3:16-18).

That should make you love Jesus, and if you’ve left your first love, He will forgive you. Return to Him now.

God bless you all,

Nathele Graham

twotug@embarqmail.com

ron@straitandnarrowministry.com

Recommended prophecy sites:

www.raptureready.com
www.prophecyupdate.com
www.raptureforums.com

All original scripture is “theopneustos,” God-breathed.

If you’d like to be on my mailing list to receive the commentaries, just drop me an email and let me know.

 

 

Marching Forward :: By Daymond Duck

Published on: by RR10

On Mar. 8, 2023, LifeSiteNews posted an article by Tom Parker that said, “The World Health Organization (WHO) is marching forward with its plans to make amendments to the International Health Regulations.”

Parker said, “Some politicians have opposed the proposed amendments to the IHR, but this opposition has yet to prevent the WHO from moving forward.”

He added that, as of now, WHO member nations have proposed 307 amendments to the IHR (307 proposed amendments could result in a lot of global laws).

According to Parker, these proposed amendments will:

  • Authorize the WHO Director-General to declare new types of health emergencies, give WHO regional directors powers to declare some types of health emergencies, and allow the WHO to issue new types of health alerts.
  • Authorize the WHO Regional Directors to declare a “public health emergency of regional concern” and authorize them to issue “intermediate health alerts.” (Notice that Parker mentions Regional Directors and regional concerns. Parker didn’t say it, but based on Bible prophecy, I am expecting that there will be Ten Regional Directors who will turn out to be the Ten Kings, leaders, or czars in a world government led by the Antichrist.)
  • Increase the WHO Director-General’s power to censor so-called misinformation and disinformation.
  • Increase the WHO Director-General’s power to track people to ensure that everyone is vaccinated.

Here is a link to Parker’s article:

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/who-pushes-ahead-with-pandemic-treaty-granting-powers-to-suppress-medical-misinformation/?utm_source=daily-usa-2023-03-09&utm_medium=email

A meeting of the WHO Intergovernmental Negotiating Body (INB) to discuss what the WHO will do next is scheduled for Apr. 17-20, 2023.

The bottom line is that the globalist agenda to establish a New World Order (Great Reset; world government) by 2030 or sooner is still marching forward, step-by-step, despite a limited amount of opposition in the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives.

(More: On Mar. 12, 2023, it was reported that the International Pandemic Treaty requires the U.S. to give 20% of its medical supplies, including antiviral medications and vaccines, to the WHO for global distribution. This is because Biden does not think Americans should get better or faster healthcare than people living in third-world countries.)

(My opinion: If the Republicans in the House and Senate do not stop this treaty, they are just as guilty as Biden and the Democrats.)

Here are more events that seem to indicate that the Tribulation Period is shaping up.

One, concerning deceit and reducing the population of the earth: on Mar. 8, 2023, The Expose reported that the U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) has been forced by court order to release tens of thousands of pages of documents that support the claim that Covid-19 vaccinations would reduce the population of the earth.

Here is a link to a very long article with a “mountain of evidence.”

https://expose-news.com/2023/03/08/confidential-pfizer-documents-reveal-covid-19-vaccination-is-going-to-lead-to-depopulation/

Two, concerning the coming economic collapse: on Mar. 9, 2023, stock in Silicon Valley Bank (SVB), the 16th largest bank and one of the most important venture capitalist banks in the U.S., lost approximately 60% of its value (lost about 52 billion dollars) when rumors circulated that the bank was having financial problems and investors started selling their stock.

(Update: On Mar. 10, 2023, the California Department of Financial Protection and Innovation took over the bank and closed it. This is the biggest bank to fail since 2008. There is concern over whether this is a one-bank event or a sign of more to come.)

(Update: On Mar. 11, 2023, Bernie Marcus, co-founder of Home Depot said, “I can’t wait for Biden to get on the speech again and talk about how great the economy is and how it’s moving forward and getting stronger by the day. And this is an indication that whatever he says is not true.” Marcus added, “Maybe the American people will finally wake up and understand that we’re living in very tough times, that, in fact, a recession may have already started. Who knows? But it doesn’t look good.”

(Update: On Mar. 12, 2023, an article in Bloomberg News expressed the opinion that the Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) failure is beginning to spread to their branches in Canada, the UK, Denmark, Germany, India, Israel, and Sweden. According to the writers, SVB’s failure could have a global impact.)

(More: On Mar. 12, 2023, a second bank, Signature Bank in New York, failed. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and U.S. Treasury Dept. assured depositors that they would not lose their money.)

(More: On Mar 14, 2023, Moody’s Investors Service, one of the big three rating firms, lowered its outlook on the U.S. banking system from stable to negative. They said despite the efforts of regulators, banks are in a rapidly deteriorating operating environment.)

(More: On Mar. 15, 2023, it was reported that the second largest bank in Switzerland, Credit Suisse, is in financial trouble and may collapse. Credit Suisse operates globally, including in the U.S.)

(My opinion: There will be a global economic collapse during the Tribulation Period when the Rider on the Black Horse is released. The Antichrist and the Tribulation Period are being restrained while the Church is here, but the global economic problems and the failure of these large banks could be a sign that we are getting close.)

Three, concerning God giving people over to reprobate minds at the end of the age: on Mar. 9, 2023, U.S. First Lady Jill Biden and U.S. Sec. of State Antony Blinken hosted the International Women of Courage Awards ceremony at the White House.

Biden and Blinken presented Alba Rueda, a biological male who identifies as a woman, an “International Women of Courage” award.

Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders tweeted, “It’s International Women’s Day—A good time to remember that Democrats can’t even tell you what a woman is.”

Four, concerning world government: on Mar. 10, 2023, LifeSiteNews posted an article by Emily Mangiaracina that said Dr. Francis Boyle, international law expert, is urging the U.S. to pass legislation introduced by Arizona Republican Congressman Andy Biggs to “immediately terminate U.S. membership in the WHO” and “immediately cut off all funding for the WHO.”

According to Boyle, Congress approved the WHO “coup d’état” against the U.S when it signed the National Defense Authorization Act in 2022 (A Global Pandemic Prevention and Biosecurity Act of 2022 was included in that bill, and I don’t know but it may be one of those bills they didn’t even read). So the only way for the U.S. to prevent the surrender of its national sovereignty to a global medical police state two months from now is to immediately withdraw from the WHO.

Here is a link to the article.

https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/us-must-immediately-withdraw-from-who-to-escape-medical-tyranny-international-law-expert/?utm_source=featured-news&utm_campaign=usa

Five, concerning America’s turning against God and Israel: on Mar. 12, 2023, it was reported that U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton accused Pres. Biden and the Democrats of trying to overthrow the government of Prime Min. Netanyahu (and now an Israeli official in the Netanyahu government confirmed Cotton’s accusation).

According to Cotton and the Israeli official, Biden’s State Department is sending money to one of the groups that are trying to bring down the Netanyahu government.

(My opinion: The Bible says God will bless those that bless Israel and curse those that curse Israel; Gen. 12:1-3. So it seems to me that Biden and the Democrats are just asking for the judgment of God to fall on them or our nation.)

Six, concerning corruption in the White House: on Mar. 12, 2023, James Comer, Chair of the House Oversight Committee, said four people that worked with the Bidens on deals with China have given the committee documents that tie the Bidens to deals with the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

Comer said the committee also has bank records in hand, and the flow of CCP money to the Biden family is “as bad as we thought.”

Comer tweeted that “Biden family members attempted to sell access & influence around the world.”

Comer promised that his committee will provide the facts to the American People.

Seven, concerning an increase in the frequency and intensity of natural disasters at the end of the age: on Mar 13, 2023, in a journal called Nature Water, researchers said, “Data (including satellite photos of 1,056 events) confirms that both frequency and intensity of rainfall and droughts are increasing.”

Finally, are you Rapture Ready?

If you want to be rapture ready and go to heaven, you must be born again (John 3:3). God loves you, and if you have not done so, sincerely admit that you are a sinner; believe that Jesus is the virgin-born, sinless Son of God who died for the sins of the world, was buried, and raised from the dead; ask Him to forgive your sins, cleanse you, come into your heart and be your Saviour; then tell someone that you have done this.

duck_daymond@yahoo.com