THE EVIL HEART OF MAN When the LORD smelled the pleasing aroma, He said in His heart, “Never again will I curse the ground because of man, even though every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth. And never again will I destroy all living creatures as I have done.  —Genesis 8:21 “Come,” they said, “let us build for ourselves a city with a tower that reaches to the heavens, that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of all the earth.”   —Genesis 11:4             Because “every inclination of his heart is evil from his youth” man sets out to 1-…

YIELD TO THE LORD GOD ALMIGHTY Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?  The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”  He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.  Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”  I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I…

GOD’S GREAT GRACE! And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your offspring and hers; he will crush your head, and you will strike his heel.”  —Genesis 3:15 The Lord God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. —Genesis 3:21 Blessed is the manwho walks not in the counsel of the wicked, nor stands in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of scoffers; but his delight is in the law of the Lord, and on his law he meditates day and night.. —Psalm 1:1-2             Counsel from the wicked is not a blessing, but to delight in God’s…

SERVE HIM OUT OF LOVE And you will again see the distinction between the righteous and the wicked, between those who serve God and those who do not. —Malachi 3:18             Those who are righteous serve God and those who are not righteous do not serve God.  This truth is seen throughout God’s Word.  Abel was righteous and served God while Cain was unrighteous and served the evil one— “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous” (I John 3:12).  Noah was righteous and served God—…

HEAVEN!  And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”  He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”  He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the…

THE END OF SATAN AND HIS FOLLOWERS He seized the dragon, that ancient serpent, who is the devil, or Satan, and bound him for a thousand years. He threw him into the Abyss, and locked and sealed it over him, to keep him from deceiving the nations anymore until the thousand years were ended. After that, he must be set free for a short time. —Revelation 20:2-3 When the thousand years are over, Satan will be released from his prison and will go out to deceive the nations in the four corners of the earth—Gog and Magog—and to gather them for battle. In number they are like the sand on…

HEARTS THAT ARE DIAMOND-HARD But they refused to pay attention and turned a stubborn shoulder and stopped their ears that they might not hear. They made their hearts diamond-hard lest they should hear the law and the words that the Lord of hosts had sent by his Spirit through the former prophets. Therefore great anger came from the Lord of hosts. —Zechariah 7:12 “The heat and pressure causes the diamonds molecules to change so that they’re so close together, the molecules can’t move (known as covalent bonding). The closeness of these molecules forms a rigid bond, therefore making the diamond hard.”             So a person who “refused to pay attention…

THIS WORLD’S SYSTEM WILL FALL IN JUDGMENT ‘Fallen! Fallen is Babylon the Great!’  She has become a dwelling for demons and a haunt for every impure spirit, a haunt for every unclean bird, a haunt for every unclean and detestable animal.  For all the nations have drunk the maddening wine of her adulteries.  The kings of the earth committed adultery with her, and the merchants of the earth grew rich from her excessive luxuries.” —Revelation 18:2-3             Men are drawn to the center of the world’s power system because of the love of money, the love of power and the love of pleasure.  This system is headed up by the…

STIR US! So the Lord stirred up the spirit of Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, governor of Judah, and the spirit of Joshua son of Jozadak, the high priest, and the spirit of the whole remnant of the people. They came and began to work on the house of the Lord Almighty, their God —Haggai 1:14             Oh Lord, that You would stir Your people to do Your great work today in our area, in our region, in our nation!  It is a marvel what You are doing in other parts of the world today and what You have done in the past.  I am grateful for what You are doing…

SING! They held harps given them by God and sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of the Lamb: “Great and marvelous are your deeds, Lord God Almighty.  Just and true are your ways, King of the nations.  Who will not fear you, Lord, and bring glory to your name?  For you alone are holy.  All nations will come and worship before you, for your righteous acts have been revealed.” —Revelation 15:2-4             These with harps are those who had been victorious over the beast and its image and over the number of its name” (Revelation 15:2).  These victorious ones “sang the song of God’s servant Moses and of…