I have discovered a bit more of what prayer really is and have decided to use this blog to pray.  Few people read it anymore since I've moved to my website so I think I can do this carefully.

Dear Lord,

You know my heart's desire.  You know that I want to write for you--that I want my words to glorify you.  I know that our soul purpose in life is to glorify you so I know that this is in line with your will.  You know the shortness of funds for my next book and my CD.  You know that this book could change so much and the CD could give hope to the hopeless.  Your word says that you hold your word above your name--that your promises written will be fulfilled because your integrity is at stake.  Your word also says that you will provide all our needs according to your riches in glory through Jesus Christ.  The finances are a need.  I have held back from asking you because I have wanted to rely on me.  So now I am asking.  You know the cost.  You know the needs.  Your word says you will supply according to your will and the purpose of glorifying you is in line with your will.  And so, I will trust you.  Please provide the needed funds and thank you in advance.  In Jesus' name.  Amen.

This portion of scripture can be vague while at the same time being very pointed.  Here, Jesus made it plain that this was the beginning of the end.  But what exactly does that mean?  There have always been wars and rumors of wars.  All through history mankind has vied for world dominance--at least dominance of the world they knew.  But there is a dividing line in this scripture reading.  Jesus began with the vague prophecy of wars and rumors of wars.  He wasn't kidding.  From that point on the Roman Empire made a deliberate attempt to conquer all of the known world.  They had managed to succeed in many nations and yet those nations rebelled.  Jesus said that his disciples shouldn't be alarmed because such things must happen.  And then he enters that tiny word.  'But'.  A word that changes the tone of any writing.  When you see the word 'but' you know that there will be a mood shift.  He tells the disciples the end is still off in the future and with that statement he begins the description of the distant future time when his kingdom would come.

During this time period North America was unknown.  Britain was only a vague island at the far outskirts of the Roman Empire.  Almost every known nation was under the might of the Roman Empire.  It was unfathomable that nation would rise against nation and kingdom against kingdom.  Jesus knew, as he made that statement, that there would come a time when the kingdoms of the world would rise up against one another--that war would envelope the world.  And since North America wasn't on the map until Columbus, the end couldn't come.  Because his salvation was meant to cover the earth so was his kingdom.  But that couldn't happen until all nations became known. 

It was no surprise when WWI started that many theologians began to declare the end of the world.  After all, two key elements to Jesus' prophecy in Matthew 24 had been fulfilled.  All the nations were known--or at least the continents were--and they were all prepared to go to war against each other.  But something was missing.  Something held back his return.  It was the rest of the prophecy that many chose to ignore.  The earthquakes and famines.  Even when WWII hit, the world hadn't yet experienced world wide famine and earthquakes.  And now according to the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) in a report released in 2004 natural disasters are on the rise globally.  It is blamed on global warming as though man is still in control--as though it is all centered around us.  Is there historical precidence for it?  Apparently not.  History records isolated disasters but no where is there a record of world wide natural trauma such as we have seen over the past five years.  Does that mean we're at the end yet?  No.  We are only beginning to enter into the birth pangs according to Jesus' words.  Stay tuned.

"As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately.  'Tell us,' they said, 'when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?'

 Jesus answered: 'Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many.' " Matt 24:3-5 NIV

 I don't know about you but when I read that Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, I pictured a softly rolling knoll covered with lush grass, but in reality the Mount of Olives is a mountain ridge that runs east of Jerusalem.  It has three peaks that run north to south, the highest of which is 2,683 ft high.  It is well known for its olive groves and has quite a rocky terrain.  Interestingly enough it was a place of burial--a strange choice for a Rabbi to preach his sermons.  And it was also the perch from which the Romans camped during the 70 AD seige. 

 When we read this portion of scripture, it's important to remember all that has come before it.  Jesus just delivered the seven woes to the Pharisees.  He just finished telling his disciples about the hypocrasy of the religious leaders and how they dressed for the sake of importance while their followers were spiritually dying.  He mourned over Jerusalem longing to "gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings".  He finished off chapter 23 with a direct quote from the book of Psalms where the prophetic teaching is a direct reference to the coming of the Messiah and his rejection.  I'm sure his disciples must have been stunned.  In verse 39 of 23 he declared himself as the fulfillment of that prophecy and then he went on to pronounce his own prophecy about the temple.  The disciples were primed and ready to listen.  And as he sat on the Mount--a graveyard and the outlook for the very army that would fulfill his prophecy, his followers wanted to hear more.

 When they asked in verse three for Jesus to tell them about the end of the age, they thought they knew what he was telling them.  They were Jews after all.  They had been raised to know the Torah and the Psalms by rote.  It didn't matter that they couldn't read.  Every Jewish boy was taught to memorize since God told Moses to proclaim the Word to Israel's children and to tie that Word on their foreheads.  So these men--these fishermen and doctors and lawyers and commoners--they knew exactly what Jesus was telling them.  That he was ushering in the Kingdom of God.  The problem they had was in thinking in earthly terms while Jesus was thinking in heavenly terms. 

 The kingdom they wanted was one that would rid them of the Romans and set up a King on the throne of David.  Jesus fit the bill on both sides of his family tree.  We can see that in the genealogies of Matthew and Luke.  He was of the line of David through and through.  He had just proclaimed himself the Saviour through reference to the Psalmist's prophecies.  And they were ready to forge ahead and reclaim the land of Israel.  If we could re-write their words, they might lsound something like this:  'Jesus, tell us when you will come in the name of the Lord.  How will you publicly announce your kingship?  And how will you end the Roman age?'

But Jesus offered a different interpretaion as he spoke.  "Watch out that no one deceives you.  For many will come in my name, claiming 'I am the Christ' and will deceive many." 

 What did Jesus mean?  They were waiting for a hero but Jesus was preparing them for the ushering in of a kingdom that was immensely more far reaching than just to the Jewish nation.  And in his statement, again, he prophecied.  He saw clearly into what would happen.  Just as the fall of the temple was fulfilled in 70 AD so was the beginning of the deception that would follow.  Jesus knew that with the destruction of Jerusalem would come a scattering of its peoples--and its faith.  He knew that usurpers would come calling themselves the Messiah.  Men like Simon Bar Kokhba who rose up against the Romans to fight and ultimately lose. 

 So when Jesus began to summarize the signs that would precede his coming, I'm sure the disciples were overwhelmed.  The first sign of his coming would be a long line of deceivers who wanted to take his leadership role.  This sign carried horizontally through history.  It was not a single event.  Jesus tried to show his disciples that there would be a large span of time between his pronouncement and his rule and he did so by saying 'many would come'.  He reminded them that these 'many' would 'deceive many'.  He knew that these 'many' would ultimately point the way to the one--the anti-christ.  He wanted his followers to be prepared for the spirit of deception that would plague the Christian church in centuries to come.

In view of my last post, I thought it might be interesting to do a bit of a study on Matthew Chapter 24.  Why would I pick this one chapter? Well, this just happens to be the chapter where Jesus explains the signs that would come with the end of the church age.  I thought it might be beneficial to do short segments and simply dissect them.  So without further adeu, let us begin.

Matthew 24:1-2  "Jesus left the temple and was walking away when his disciples came up to him to call his attention to its building.  'Do you see all these things?' he asked.  'I tell you the truth, not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.' " (NIV)

We initially look at this portion of scripture and it seems pretty simple but Jesus was beginning the first of a series of prophecies that would lead us through church history.  At the time that Jesus was uttering this particular prophecy Jerusalem was a busy hub of activity for the Jewish nation.  But it was also under the authority of the Roman Empire and it was this very empire that allowed the extravagance of the temple to remain. 

A few mere decades later the Emperor, Nero, also known by then as Imperato Nero Claudius Caesar Augustus Germanicus, decided he needed more money so he ordered his Judean governor, Gessius Florus, to confiscate it from the temple treasury.  Gessius Florus proceeded to do as he was told but ended up crucifying some innocent bystanders over a joke made by Jewish citizens who 'passed the hat' to help poor Florus.  That began the rebellion which likely wouldn't have started had it not been for the Roman Empire's penchant for starving Jewish citizens.  The war began in 66 and carried through to 70.

In 66 a man by the name of Menahem, who, incidently, was referred to as the king of the Jews, raided the fortress of Masada.  He was then declared openly as king of the Jews and he and his men, the Sicarians or dagger men, laid seige to Jerusalem.  Menahem had Ananias the high priest killed and then very shortly after found himself dangling at the end of a rope.  That nicely ended his short-lived reign.

Somebody in Rome got the hint and decided to replace Gessius Florus but the new guy, Gaius Cestius Gallus, decided that force was the best remedy to free Jerusalem.  He wasn't prepared for the ambush by Eleaser son of Simon and managed to lose his standard and his pride.  Over the next three years the two forces would struggle for dominance.

By 70 Nero had committed suicide, Vespasian ruled the army and his son Titus was doing the political tapdance to get in good with the new emperor Galba.  Before he could get there Galba was lynched and the fight for the throne was on.  Before long Vespasian slipped into the emperor's clothes and order was restored.  This left Titus as the head of the army and on April 14, 70 which happened to coincide with the Passover, he laid seige to Jerusalem.  With the city surrounded, the Jews finally united and prepared to defend their city.  Starvation became the rule of the day for the Jews and some tried to escape only to find themselves nailed in various poses to crosses--nearly 500 per day were crucified.

Historian Josephus Flavius stated that the fire to the temple was set deliberately by the Roman soldiers however it has been questioned that perhaps he documented it this way to help Titus who was his friend.  Cornelius Tacitus who later was appointed to the senate made it very plain that Titus had ordered it done.  According to Josephus, the Romans levelled all the walls around Jerusalem right down to the bedrock.  While many believe that the existing wall is one of the temple walls, both Josephus Flavius and Emperor Titus declared that the temple was completely destroyed.  In Josephus' writings you will find:  "It [Jerusalem with its walls] was so thoroughly laid even with the ground by those that dug it up to the foundation, that there was left nothing to make those that came thither believe it [Jerusalem] had ever been inhabited" (War VII.1,1).

So that first portion of scripture we just read was loaded with far more information than first thought.  It was a profound collection of words and thoughts.  Not only did Jesus say the temple would be destroyed--a blanket statement that time could have fulfilled without a prophet's utterance--but every stone was thrown down with not one left on another--exactly as Jesus had said.

I just had the coolest news.  It appears that Hot Apple Cider--the Canadian anthology--is about to appear on 100 Huntley Street as the feature book of the month for February.  Why is that so cool?  Because I'm one of the 30 authors who contributed to the book!  Woohoo!  If you want to find out more go to http://www.hotapplecider.ca or go to the crossroads website listed below.

http://www.crossroads.ca/broadcas/video2.php

In my strange collection of busy moments I seem to have missed posting that my novel Vengeance is in the process of a blog tour.  To find out what they are saying (and I haven't yet looked myself so I could very well be shooting myself in the foot) go to http://cfrblog.blogspot.com/  and see what they have to say. 

Moving on from there, my apologies for all of you who came to my site only to find that the post I had written wasn't there.  So, we'll try again.

Recently, my daughters went shopping in a nearby mall.  They took our oldest grand daughter who is not yet two but is quite proud of her attempts at toilet training.  The girls were trying on clothes in a particular store when my grand daughter informed them she had to go potty.  Imagine our surprise when the girls found out that they could NOT use the store washroom.  That it was only for employees.  Needless to say, the clothes went unpurchased and the girls found another store only too willing to accommodate the little tyke's needs.

Does this ring true to you?  I must admit, I kind of squirmed when I thought about it.  How often do we sit in our church pews and surround ourselves with that feeling of exclusivity.  We're members after all.  We get the priviledges of church membership.  While I understand the need for membership, I sometimes wonder if we lose peoples' interests in our determination to keep the lines firmly in place.  Yes, I realize that we have to be careful to place people of sound theology in teaching positions but does it really hurt to have a non-member helping on the potluck dinner committee?  Is the church going to collapse if the janitor hasn't signed on the dotted line or if a VBS camp incorporates helpers who haven't yet made that step?  Of course not!  I don't remember Jesus telling us anything about membership.  But he did tell us to love one another as he loved us and that through that love others would come to know him. 

That store manager didn't get it.  She didn't understand that her callous behaviour lost her several customers--not just one.  And often our churches don't get it either.  When we live in our elite little worlds that don't allow non-members to become actively involved in the ministry we are at risk of losing those workers and the people around them.  What is a soul worth these days?  A bit of humility?  A bit of mercy?  Perhaps an overlooking of the letter of the law for the sake of grace?  Something to ponder.

I never thought I would see myself writing.  And then I never thought I would see myself speaking or singing--oh yes, God is working in that direction too--and now I sit here flabbergasted because it is sinking in that I will be writing.   

I remember asking God to give me a full-time career.  As my daughters left home and my house emptied I clearly remember begging him, "don't let me become obsolete.  I don't want to just sit at home and spend my life in a never ending cycle of household chores.  I want my life to matter beyond the walls of my home."  And he has answered that prayer in full measure.

This year will bring a flurry of activity.  I will be teaching night courses in creative writing at Fanshawe College.  Who would have thought that those online university writing credits would have brought me so far?  March will find me in the preliminary stages of cutting a CD.  Yes, that's right--a CD.  Over the course of 30 years, I have written songs--24 of them in fact--and God has placed people and circumstances in my path that will bring about the publishing of those songs. 

I'm excited and nervous.  Excited because I know that God is using the gifts he loaned me and in using them others may just come to know of his great love, peace and forgiveness.  Nervous because I am human and in being human my will can often get in the way.  When that happens things usually start to fall apart at the seams. 

Not only are continued prayers appreciated but praise also that God is big enough to move beyond our shortcomings and work through us anyway.  And that he loves us all so much that he tries over and over, in so many ways, to win our love in return.  Many blessings as you go forth in the calling God has chosen for you.