Who Holds Tomorrow (Newsletter) - Part 2

Recently I wrote a post titled "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" - link to post here http://sharingthefaith-northernsparrow.blogspot.ca/2012/11/i-know-who-holds-tomorrow.html
I shared how the song "I Know Who Holds Tomorrow" holds a special place in my heart.
So I was pleasantly surprised to find that this song is also a favorite to the Dr Thomas Wyatt.
I am on the Wings of Healing mailing list so I am blessed to receive their letters regularly. In his most recent letter, Dr Wyatt included a New Year's message which I would like to share with you here:
I will share parts of his letter here below. His letter includes warnings, prophecies, comfort and encouragement. I believe you will be blest by reading Dr Wyatt's insights.

The Newsletter:


Newsletter from Wings of Healing

You can link to his website at -  www.thomasrwyatt.org

He begins by saying:

My faithful friend:
The New Year, traditionally, has been the opportunity to envision what the year ahead and even beyond may have in store.......
Regrettably, just as our Lord prophesied, our world is one of "wars, and rumors of wars, ( meaning wars close by, and wars half a world away), but we are not to be alarmed, for this must happen, but it is not the end... there will be famines, and earthquakes in various places, but all this is but the beginnings of the birthpangs.....and you will be delivered up to tribulation, and put to death, you will be hated by all nations for My name sake... ( Matthew 24)
What our Lord describes is a world of chaos and lawlessness, and He will add, one of falsehood and treachery, which will cause many to fall away. But He affirms "those who endureto the end will be saved, and the gospel of the Kingdom will be preached as a testimony to all nations. Then and only then, He declares, the end will come......

What the world and it's princes have done is to excude God for centuries, and of course they have made matters worse. So as we see markets and governments crumble, as it results in carnage in places we have never heard of before, needless, heartache, the deprivation of far too many, and increased uncertainty and unrest, remember it is the consequences of ignoring God. This will result in unimaginable events, not just in some far corner of our globe, but very close at hand. Evil will raise its hand against even the innocent, as we have discovered in a small town in Connecticut.
As I see such evil I remember the old hymn by Ira Spanphill, and yes, find myself singing, "...I don't worry o'er the future, for I know what Jesus said, and today I'll walk beside Him, for He knows what lies ahead. Many things about tomorrow I don't seem to understand, but I know who holds tomorrow, and I know who holds my hand".

We should know Him, and His love, and thus be able to say, regardless of the evil, regardless of what may confronts us, we have " The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive... you know Him, for He dwells with you, and will be in you" ( John 14:17 )......

So as this coming year unfolds, as the frequent chaos persists, as the futility of human and governmental meddling continue, I would have your remember with me just who it is "who holds tomorrow" and that it is He "Who holds ours hands." He has promised to always be there for His people, those who He has called unto Himelf. He will, with His strong arm cover us, undertake for us, and enable us......

 The above are the words from the letter written by Thomas Wyatt.

Franklin Graham Speaks - Warnings to America!

Sometime ago I posted the letter where Billy Graham put out a warning to America - link to post here: http://sharingthefaith-northernsparrow.blogspot.ca/2012/07/billy-grahams-letter-to-america.html

Now Billy Graham's son Franklin has put out a letter warning America once again. I believe that the warning is relevant to all people in all the world - we all need to get right before the Lord. Repent before the Lord and seek to follow the Lord with all our heart. Unless we as individuals and as families, as churches and as a nation turn to the Lord once again, the Lord will continue to allow disasters and troubles to plague our land as warnings to repentance.  I want to post the letter from Franklin Graham here. You can also find it at the BGEA website link here: http://www.billygraham.org/articlepage.asp?articleid=9127


Franklin Graham writes the following: ( While all of it is highly important to read, I have highlighted some portions that I know are extremely important to consider. )

December 27, 2012 - My hope and prayer is that the Lord will once again move in our land. It can happen, and we are trusting that a fire of revival will ignite as tens of thousands of homes are opened up this year to share the Gospel through My Hope with Billy Graham.

Calling America back from the edge of a spiritual and moral cliff.

Dear Friend,
As we come into the new year, America is facing many challenges. For the past few weeks, the media has been focused on what has been termed as the nation’s “fiscal cliff.”

Our country’s financial problems, however, are nothing compared to the spiritual and moral cliff that is far more destructive to our nation than any economic concerns.

Since the recent election, we’ve seen same-sex couples lining up at courthouses in several states to receive their marriage licenses, and hundreds of people gathering in public places to light up marijuana cigarettes in the states where it has just been decriminalized.
This is only the tip of the iceberg. The moral decline we see on television programs—blatant immorality, senseless violence, media-friendly gay and lesbian behavior—is just a reflection of the moral corruption that has infected our entire nation. These are indeed dark days ... but there is hope.

The Bible says, “If the foundations are destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3, ESV). No question our country’s foundations are being destroyed, but I am reminded of an era in the Old Testament where the Lord moved in a dramatic way to bring godly change to a spiritually dark and depraved nation like Judah, whose moral foundations had been seriously eroded.
Manasseh was the wickedest king to rule over Judah. Throughout his 55 years of evil reign, the land had been defiled with innocent blood. He led Judah into witchcraft, sorcery, and the worship of false gods and idols, including the fertility goddess Asherah. He even sacrificed his own son in the fires of idolatry.

Not many years later, God worked in an extraordinary and unexpected way to bring national revival.
Josiah, Manasseh’s grandson, became king at age 8. Ten years after becoming king, Josiah asked his high priest, Hilkiah, to collect funds to repair the temple that was in disrepair. As they worked, they uncovered the book of the law (the first five books of the Bible). Apparently it had been lost and neglected for a number of years. When Josiah heard the books read aloud by a scribe, he tore his clothes and said, “Great is the wrath of the Lord that is kindled against us, because our fathers have not obeyed the words of this book, to do according to all that is written concerning us” (2 Kings 22:13).

When the Word of God was then read aloud to all the inhabitants of Jerusalem, it pierced their souls and the stage was set for national repentance. Idols were smashed, spiritists and mediums forcibly removed, and the worship of the one true God reinstated. Once again, righteousness ruled.

For far too long, as a nation we have neglected—and even rejected—the Word of God and His commands. Yet the Scriptures are mighty, able to penetrate even the most hardened and darkened hearts with convicting, life-giving power. They are God-breathed, and any new season of repentance and revival in America can only come through a renewed focus on the great truths of God’s Word.

Just as the Lord used an 18-year-old king to begin revival in a corrupt nation more than 1,500 years ago, He can use us as we earnestly seek Him, stand for His truths, and pray for America. This is the only cure for a sin-sickened country that is about to slip into a moral abyss, and it is why we must proclaim the Good News.

My hope and prayer is that the Lord will once again move in our land. It can happen, and we are trusting that a fire of revival will ignite as tens of thousands of homes are opened up this year to share the Gospel through My Hope with Billy Graham. It will be a tremendous outreach across our country, the most extensive we have conducted in the history of this ministry, and we need your prayers and financial support as we put this massive evangelistic effort together.
Only the Lord Jesus Christ knows what lies ahead of us in the coming year, but I do know that He promises to be with us every step of the way, “even to the end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).
Thank you, and God bless you. We appreciate you.

Warmly,

Franklin Graham

Are you Sleeping Brothers & Sisters??

Jeremiah 5:31 The prophets prophesy falsely, and the priests bear rule by their means; and my people love to have it so: and what will ye do in the end thereof?

Revelation 3:11 Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown.
Are you sleeping brother /sister?
There is growing concern today about the sleepy and unwatchful state that our Christian community is in. What is content of the messages that we hear on the radio or TV and in our churches?  In the verse from Jeremiah 5, the leaders are turning away from God. They are allowing sin to affect the community of believers and there is no call to repentance from the leaders. In my opinion, that is pretty much what we are seeing today also. We see warnings being put out by well known Bible teachers (such as Irwin Lutzer, Anne Graham Lotz, Billy Graham, Joel Rosenberg, John McTernan) calls of warnings and calls to repentance from them - But no warnings are coming on a local level. I find it  troubling that, generally speaking, no one in the Christian community at a local level is noticing God speak to us through the world events, the riots among Muslims, financial woes, wars looming, the heat and drought and other weather events we've had this summer, or through the homosexual issues that are surfacing in our communities. It is as though God is shouting to us but it is falling on mostly deaf ears. There is never a mention of any of these global warnings from the pulpits of our churches. It seems that though there are good outreaches to the lost going on in some places, in the majority scope of things, Christians are not noticing any of these warnings but are going on blindly wandering within their own "small bubbles" consummed with the things of this world - money, fashion,TV shows, pleasures, music, movies, travel, etc. Matthew 13: 14-16 And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive: For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them. But blessed are your eyes, for they see: and your ears, for they hear.
In my opinion, it is time to open our eyes and ears - look up, listen and watch - and encourage one another to prepare for persecution of our faith, to prepare to stand for truth and righteousness. How are Christians going to be prepared to stand in the face of persecution if they do not even know that it is getting very very close? With the outrage over the controversial movie - the " Innocence of Muslims", we can see that there is a closing-in on of  the freedoms of Christians. Proverbs 6:4-5 Give not sleep to thine eyes, nor slumber to thine eyelids. Deliver thyself as a roe from the hand of the hunter, and as a bird from the hand of the fowler.
As we see rough times approaching, we need to draw ever closer to our Lord Jesus, go deeper with the Lord and spend more time in the Bible and in prayer. We need to alert one another to what is going on around us and encourage each other in the Lord. We need to hear the warning bells sounding from our church pulpits! and we need to hear words of encouragement to prepare!
Hebrews 10: 23-27 Let us hold fast the profession of our faith without wavering; (for he is faithful that promised;) And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. For if we sin wilfully after that we have received the knowledge of the truth, there remaineth no more sacrifice for sins,  But a certain fearful looking for of judgment and fiery indignation, which shall devour the adversaries.

Drought Awakening 2012...

Those of us who watch the news regularly will know that there is widespread drought in North America, both in the USA and in parts of Canada. The experts are warning us of higher food costs due to the very hot and dry weather that has kept the crops from producing the normal bushel amounts. So when we see this we can not help but wonder what is going on and why is this happening? The scientist blames it on climate change but I disagree with that. I certainly do not have the all the answers but as I read my Bible, I get a small glimpse as to the reason why God sent droughts at other times. I believe that God is in direct control of the weather as well as who He allows into government, etc and I believe we can trust Him with every area of our life.
This morning as I read my Bible, I was in Haggai chapter 1 for part of my devotional time. I was kind of shocked by what I read. The people were building up their own houses and wealth but were not giving God what was rightfully His - that is they were not giving Him the glory and honor that He deserves. Please read the following verses from Haggai 1: 3-6  Then the word of the Lord came by Haggai the prophet, saying, ⁴ “Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?” ⁵ Now therefore, thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! ⁶ You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.”
So while the people were living selfishly and kept busy working to build up their own properties, for their own pleasures, they were neglecting the things of the Lord. In those days God required the temple - that is His House to be kept up in a certain way but the people had not done so. In Verse 7 and 8 God says : Thus says the Lord of hosts, “Consider your ways! ⁸ Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,” says the Lord.  Notice that God specifically asks that they do this in order to please Him and to bring Him glory.
Because they were not living in obedience to the Lord, He continues in verses 9-11 ⁹ “ You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?” declares the Lord of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house. ¹⁰ Therefore, because of you the sky has withheld its dew and the earth has withheld its produce. ¹¹ I called for a drought on the land, on the mountains, on the grain, on the new wine, on the oil, on what the ground produces, on men, on cattle, and on all the labor of your hands.”
God says that He called for the drought to come because His house lies desolate. So thinking about our life today and making application here - I have to ask the question - By sending the droughts in 2012, what is God saying?? Is He saying that He is not pleased with the way the Christian church ( as Christians we make up His temple today)  is operating and that Christians are living selfish and worldly lives? Has the Christian church lost sight of Christ and become too much like the world, becoming more and more a place of entertainment rather than the place where people are called to repentance and to faith and to solid Biblical teaching? Is the church teaching life-altering faith in the Lord Jesus that is committed to following Him and will  not run with the world? Are these droughts indicators of the spiritual condition of the Christian community today? These are the questions that I am asking? When I think of my own church that I attend regulary, I would have to say that there is both there - people to are deeply commited to the things of the Lord and others who try to make it a place of entertainment, a place to show off your fashions, and  to distract from honest worship.  It is heartbreaking to see the looseness of so called Christians. How long has it been since your church has preached to warn people of the ongoing sin among so called Christians - such as abortion, homosexuality,sex outside of marriage and  pornograghy, as well as immodest dress, alcohol and drugs, immoral music and movies, the excessive spending, the saturation of oneself with pleasures, etc.  I would have to say that at my church these issues are not being addressed.
So we can see that the drought is not only real in the fields and crops across North America but the drought seems to also be equally as real in the church itself in the lukewarm pleasure seeking hearts of those who worship the pleasures of this world. It is time to come back to the Lord and seek Him with our whole heart. I believe God is drawing a line and is waiting for people to turn back to Him in sincerity and truth. Let's earnestly pray for people to turn back to God, to give Him the glory and the honor that He so very much deserves. Time is of the essence here.
Psalm 33: 17-21
¹⁷ An horse is a vain thing for safety: neither shall he deliver any by his great strength.
¹⁸ Behold, the eye of the Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy;
¹⁹ To deliver their soul from death, and to keep them alive in famine.
²⁰ Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield.
²¹ For our heart shall rejoice in him, because we have trusted in his holy name.
Heavenly Father, In the Name of Jesus, I ask you for a real turning in the churches today. I ask that You would help people to see where it's really at and that in repentance we would all seek You and turn from the wickedness within our hearts and within our churches. I especially ask You to alert the Pastors to what You are saying and where it is all heading. Thank-you for Your loving "nudges" that You give. Amen

Billy Graham's letter to America...

Many of you reading my blog will know that I am a fan of Billy Graham. It was through Billy's preaching on the Hour of Decision broadcast, that I was able to understand my need of salvation.
I want to post a letter that Billy Graham has written to America. It is clear that Billy Graham can see that the judgements of God are getting ever closer. I believe that it is not only America that is facing the downward spiral that Billy talks about. I see it here in Canada very much the same. May God Bless you as you read Billy Graham's letter posted here.

Here is the letter Billy Graham wrote:   (I will highlite some parts that I find significant: )

July 24, 2012 - In a new prayer letter Billy Graham writes: "My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance."

 

by Billy Graham

Some years ago, my wife, Ruth, was reading the draft of a book I was writing. When she finished a section describing the terrible downward spiral of our nation’s moral standards and the idolatry of worshiping false gods such as technology and sex, she startled me by exclaiming, “If God doesn’t punish America, He’ll have to apologize to Sodom and Gomorrah.”
She was probably thinking of a passage in Ezekiel where God tells why He brought those cities to ruin. “Now this was the sin of ... Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen” (Ezekiel 16:49–50, NIV).

I wonder what Ruth would think of America if she were alive today. In the years since she made that remark, millions of babies have been aborted and our nation seems largely unconcerned. Self-centered indulgence, pride, and a lack of shame over sin are now emblems of the American lifestyle. Just a few weeks ago in a prominent city in the South, Christian chaplains who serve the police department were ordered to no longer mention the Name of Jesus in prayer. It was reported that during a recent police-sponsored event, the only person allowed to pray was someone who addressed “the being in the room.” Similar scenarios are now commonplace in towns across America.Our society strives 
to avoid any possibility of offending anyone—except God.

Yet the farther we get from God, the more the world spirals out of control.
My heart aches for America and its deceived people. The wonderful news is that our Lord is a God of mercy, and He responds to repentance. In Jonah’s day, Nineveh was the lone world superpower—wealthy, unconcerned, and self-centered. When the Prophet Jonah finally traveled to Nineveh and proclaimed God’s warning, people heard and repented.

I believe the same thing can happen once again, this time in our nation. It’s something I long for, and my son Franklin recently shared a vision for perhaps the greatest challenge in the history of the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association—to launch an outreach called My Hope with Billy Graham that would bring the Gospel into neighborhoods and homes in every corner of America next year.

BGEA has already taken My Hope to more than 50 nations. We’ve worked in close partnership with local churches across each country, and those churches have reported millions of life-changing decisions for Christ. Carrying out a nationwide American version of this evangelistic outreach will be an enormous undertaking, but in my spirit I know God has called us to do this, and I pray He will stir your heart to join us in prayer and support.

Franklin will share more about the project with you as the planning develops. In the meantime, all this year Franklin and his son Will are preaching “repentance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ” (Acts 20:21, ESV) at Crusade events across North America—from Texas to Canada—and God has blessed the work. Already tens of thousands have heard the Gospel, and many have responded, especially young people.

As I write, I am in the middle of a busy summer enjoying visits with many of my grandchildren and other family members, but also working hard on a new book that addresses some dangerous illusions about eternal salvation that are becoming increasingly accepted in many places. I want to point the world to what the Bible says.
Although age and health restrict my mobility and my stamina, not to mention my eyesight and hearing, I am thankful for the days God has given me, and I am humbled by His continued hand of favor on the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association. The Lord draws people to Himself daily through BGEA’s various evangelistic ministries, and I am so deeply grateful.

The next Crusade event is August 18–19 with Franklin in Green Bay, Wis., followed by two in September, in Buffalo, N.Y., and Ottawa, Ontario. Please join me in praying for the power of the Holy Spirit on the preaching of the Gospel.

May God bless you,

Billy Graham

The Church and the LGBT Movement....

Luke 18: 7-8  And shall not God avenge his own elect, which cry day and night unto him, though he bear long with them?
⁸ I tell you that he will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall he find faith on the earth?

Jesus asked the question - When He comes back to earth, will he find faith here? The question I am asking today is similar - Will the church stand up against the culture of today, that is Will the church cave in to the LGBT movement that is sweeping our nations or will the church stand with God's Word the Bible and condemn all such activity? It would appear that this could well be the make or break issue that will show who is on the Lord's side and who is not.  God is not going to allow people ( Christian or not) to mock Him and His revealed will and truth as recorded in the Bible. For the sake of His own Name, He will act.
The Bible says in Galatians 6: 7-8  Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap.
⁸ For he that soweth to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that soweth to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

As we study our Bibles we will not find one place where sodomy is approved of in any way. Throughout the Scriptures sexual sin of every sort is strongly condemned and unless repented of will have serious eternal consequences.  Sodomy and the like only brings ruin and destruction on individuals, families, cities and nations who pratice and promote such a lifstyle.

Isaiah 3: 8-10  For Jerusalem is ruined, and Judah is fallen: because their tongue and their doings are against the Lord, to provoke the eyes of his glory.
⁹ The shew of their countenance doth witness against them; and they declare their sin as Sodom, they hide it not. Woe unto their soul! for they have rewarded evil unto themselves.
¹⁰ Say ye to the righteous, that it shall be well with him: for they shall eat the fruit of their doings.

The cities of Sodom and Gomorrah were burned down to the ground due to the homosexual sin and violence that accompanies it. The Bible says that these stories from history are supposed to teach us to not make the same mistakes. 2 Peter 2:6    and turning the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes, condemned them to destruction, making them an example to those who afterward would live ungodly

The Bible says that other sin is done outside the body but immorality  ( which also includes homosexuality ) is done within the body. Our bodies belong to the Lord and as such serious effort should be made to keep it clean to the glory of God.  1 Corinthians 6:18 -20  Flee immorality. Every other sin that a man commits is outside the body, but the immoral man sins against his own body. ¹⁹ Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and that you are not your own? ²⁰ For you have been bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body.

Many people today will say that because the Bible teaches that as Christians we are to be people of love, therefore we cannot condemn the homosexual lifestyle of the people around us. While it is most certainly true that we as Christians we are to be the most loving people on the planet, this cannot mean that we take the side of sin and oppose God and His word. It is not love to justify something that God condemns, something  that is an abomination to Him and for which He will surely bring suffering  and judgement for. The loving thing to do is to sound the warning bells and urge people everywhere to repent and escape the wrath of God.

1 Corinthians 6: 9-11  Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals, nor sodomites, ¹⁰ nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. ¹¹ And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God.

We have already seen the LGBT movement enter into the churches of Canda and the United States. There are churches where the pastors and other church leaders are gay. It seems more and more churches are failing to stand for the truth of God's Word.  The Bible teaches that in the Last Days many will be led astray and fall away from the truth and sad to say it appears that this has already begun. It is time that we who are Christians take a strong stand for truth and righteousness. Stand with God. Stand with the Bible!

When Jesus returns - Will He really find faith on the earth?