Come learn of the famine that is facing us in this final generation. Not a famine for bread or water, but rather a famine for hearing the words of God!  It’s no surprise, as it was written of long ago.  Christ has foretold us all things.

In day to day life, I try to think about things from the Father’s perspective. I’m not talking about a flesh and bone father, but the Father of our souls. It’s a battle though.

The flesh is continually at odds with the spirit – but one thing always helps bring me back to focus.

My Kids

Being a father myself, I tend to be a very loving yet strong and stable helper for my children. Just like the Father who wrote His law for man and for the spirit, whereby we could rest sure in the eternal salvation presented therein.

They whine and complain when I tell them they can’t have something. They try to ask my wife for something I’ve already said no to. Much like when the Father is trying to guard us from harm, but “WE WANT IT!”, or we try to go about getting it “our OWN way”.

They demand so much and yet, when they show the smallest act of love and charity, or they speak with clarity and respect in public, I’m reminded of just how much I love them and how long I am willing to suffer for their sakes. So too does the Father smile down on us when we present Him with these works.

When my kiddos mess up, I require that they repent to whomever the offense was against immediately. So also, when Christ paid the price for our sins, He required us to acknowledge our sins and repent.

There is so much wisdom to behold as a man in the role of a father. We all fall short, but at least do your very best to set forth a good example, encourage and love on your spouse and children and enjoy the fruits the Father has given you.

I hope you got a chance to lift up a father on Father’s Day and I hope you took a moment to give thanks and praise to the Father of our souls.

Joshua Jones

I know some will want to flak me for this, but frankly it’s truth and it needs to be told.

Did you realize that God himself declared His purpose for man and that He’s been repeating it for thousands of years now?  It’s pretty amazing, let us examine further:

In the Old Testament:

2Kings 17:13 Yet the LORD testified against Israel, and against Judah, by all the prophets, and by all the seers, saying, Turn ye from your evil ways, and keep my commandments and my statutes, according to all the law which I commanded your fathers, and which I sent to you by my servants the prophets.

Jeremiah 18:8 If that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil that I thought to do unto them.

Jeremiah 18:10 If it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then I will repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.

Jeremiah 25:5 They said, Turn ye again now every one from his evil way, and from the evil of your doings, and dwell in the land that the LORD hath given unto you and to your fathers for ever and ever:

Jeremiah 26:3 If so be they will hearken, and turn every man from his evil way, that I may repent me of the evil, which I purpose to do unto them because of the evil of their doings.

Jeremiah 26:13 Therefore now amend your ways and your doings, and obey the voice of the LORD your God; and the LORD will repent him of the evil that he hath pronounced against you.

Ezekiel 14:6 Therefore say unto the house of Israel, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Repent, and turn yourselves from your idols; and turn away your faces from all your abominations.

Ezekiel 18:30 Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, saith the Lord GOD. Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin.

Ezekiel 33:11 Say unto them, As I live, saith the Lord GOD, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways; for why will ye die, O house of Israel?

Zechariah 1:4 Be ye not as your fathers, unto whom the former prophets have cried, saying, Thus saith the LORD of hosts; Turn ye now from your evil ways, and from your evil doings: but they did not hear, nor hearken unto me, saith the LORD.

In the New Testament:

Matthew 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach, and to say, Repent: for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.

Luke 13:2 And Jesus answering said unto them, Suppose ye that these Galilaeans were sinners above all the Galilaeans, because they suffered such things?  3 I tell you, Nay: but, except ye repent, ye shall all likewise perish.

Luke 24:46 And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day:   47 And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem.

Acts 14:15 And saying, Sirs, why do ye these things? We also are men of like passions with you, and preach unto you that ye should turn from these vanities unto the living God, which made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and all things that are therein:

Acts 17:30 And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:

Acts 26:20 But shewed first unto them of Damascus, and at Jerusalem, and throughout all the coasts of Judaea, and then to the Gentiles, that they should repent and turn to God, and do works meet for repentance.

2Peter 3:9 The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.

My point here is, when and where is it being preached?  I’ve been to many churches throughout the west and southeast coasts of the US, listened to hours upon hours of preaching streamed over the net and it’s sad to say, the key to God’s will (repentance unto the forgiveness of our sins) is rarely taught, let alone the rest of the meat in God’s Word.

We all fall short, so it’s not even up for debate that we all sin.  So if we continually sin (being prone to it while in the flesh), then we have need to wipe the slate clean every now and again, if not at every occurrence of this plague of the flesh.

We hear all kinds of preaching about “come on down to the alter and get saved“, “let Jesus into your heart“, “be born again!” and again you hear even more mundane and vague sermons like, “Once saved, always saved!“, “Just believe!“, and “Just sow your seed in us and God will give you a bountiful harvest!“.  It’s so ridiculous today that these false preachers and lovers of men more than lovers of God are taking over the airwaves of the Christian broadcasting networks.

If all God wants is for us to repent of our evil ways and listen to His Word, why wouldn’t we just do that?  It seems like a pretty clear call and consistent theme throughout the Word.

I’ll tell you why: because the message is all garbled up with the traditions of men, and these traditions are like a veil placed over the saving arms of the Father who created our souls.  You can read of this kind of covering and what God thinks of it here:

Ezekiel 13:17 Likewise, thou son of man, set thy face against the daughters of thy people, which prophesy out of their own heart; and prophesy thou against them,  18 And say, Thus saith the Lord GOD; Woe to the women that sew pillows to all armholes, and make kerchiefs upon the head of every stature to hunt souls! Will ye hunt the souls of my people, and will ye save the souls alive that come unto you?  19 And will ye pollute me among my people for handfuls of barley and for pieces of bread, to slay the souls that should not die, and to save the souls alive that should not live, by your lying to my people that hear your lies?
20 Wherefore thus saith the Lord GOD; Behold, I am against your pillows, wherewith ye there hunt the souls to make them fly, and I will tear them from your arms, and will let the souls go, even the souls that ye hunt to make them fly.  21 Your kerchiefs also will I tear, and deliver my people out of your hand, and they shall be no more in your hand to be hunted; and ye shall know that I am the LORD.  22 Because with lies ye have made the heart of the righteous sad, whom I have not made sad; and strengthened the hands of the wicked, that he should not return from his wicked way, by promising him life:   23 Therefore ye shall see no more vanity, nor divine divinations: for I will deliver my people out of your hand: and ye shall know that I am the LORD.

The charge is pretty serious, and frankly it’s high time we all get to checking out what people say instead of just going with the flow of opinions, propaganda and hate.  Spread the good word; the gosepel of a risen Christ is a promise of eternal life in righteousness for those who believe on Christ and repent of their error and folly.

When the time comes for the white throne judgment all shall answer for those things beside their names in the Book of Life, the true record, kept up to date by our Father from the foundations of the world.  When you truly repent, He blots out the sin and it is forgiven.  Without Christ as the sacrifice, we would have run out of livestock many years of go offering up sin offerings for the world.

I hope you got some value and perspetive on God’s will and the purpose of His Christ here.   Thanks for reading!

Joshua Jones

Ok, just like any workman, you need to have the essential tools.  To begin, let me speak to the variance in translations.  The KJV 1611 AV (Authorized Version) was the English version base and an entire Greek, Hebrew and Chaldean dictionary was put together by Dr. Strong.  This combination of tools is critical for you to actually “do the research” yourself, as an English speaking person without becoming an multilingual scholar.  I have the tools listed below.

Now that translations are out of the way, next I want to touch on commentary.  First of all, it’s just that, comments – which were derived from thoughts – which imagination can have a say in.  Please remember that in studying God’s word, look up the original word/phrase if you need clarity: don’t just lean on some commentary.

Alright once you have the tools, you just need to dig on in and get through most of it a couple times.  This process will begin to unlock synapse in your mind with different phrases, people, setting and links throughout God’s word.  As you continue to research the root of confusing dialogue, you’ll come to understand God’s overall plan and your role in it!

The Companion Bible (KJV)
Strong’s Concordance (the KJV dictionary)

Thanks for reading, I hope this has helped you move passed some humps in your spiritual walk.

~ Joshua Jones