"We know that all creation is groaning in labor pains even until now." Romans 8:22
Two years ago, during prayer, my Mom got this word "The whole earth is groaning."
Looking around this world lately there is probably little doubt in any one's mind that something unprecedented (at least in our lifetimes) is going on. Earthquakes, tsunamis, volcanic eruptions, wildfires, tornadoes, floods, bizarre weather patterns throughout the earth, animal die-offs and the like. It's just not normal, hasn't been for years, and continues to get stranger and stranger. But why? Why is creation groaning?
Only God could give us a complete answer to this question but here is what we do know:
When humankind fell ...all creation fell with it. This is not only biblical (read Genesis and Romans 8 for example) but is also obvious to the human eye. Even animals and plants sicken, catch diseases and die. In other words - OUR sin affected the whole planet. What makes people think that this has changed? There is a definite correlation between sin and what happens here on earth. Cause and effect, you could say, though scientists wouldn't agree because they only look at the physical and fail to take into consideration the spiritual. Needless to say, many scientists are probably a bit baffled by the events taking place on earth. Perhaps not by the natural disasters themselves as by the sheer number of catastrophes taking place lately. It's not just the increase natural disasters, there has been a phenomenal number of animal die-offs lately. I couldn't find a site with all the statistics up until May but check out this site and here too. These sites will give you a general picture of how serious this issue is getting.
We know the Lord is allowing these events to happen in our day and I believe a good portion of it is due to the amount of sin in the world. As sin increases and our spirits groan under the weight of it- so too does the earth and all creation groan with us and these disasters will continue until we turn away from sin and turn toward the Lord.
Call it what you will - purification, chastisement, divine correction....the signs are everywhere and it's up to us whether we heed them or not.
Showing posts with label signs of the times. Show all posts
Showing posts with label signs of the times. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Monday, May 23, 2011
Prophetic Words
The gift of prophecy is one of the charisms that the Lord gives to some people. Different people have different gifts and each gift fits into the "bigger picture" as a piece would fit into a puzzle. Prophecy is not always about the future, though it can be. Many prophetic words speak about the present time and may even draw on words from the past to "teach" or "warn" about the future. This is why sometimes you see an Old Testament passage given as a prophetic word for the present day. These are warnings and are meant to be taken seriously. Here is a link about the charism of prophesy - Prophetic Words.
Everyone who reads this blog knows that I believe we live in serious times. To make the "words" I (or at times others) have been given more easily accessible I have added a new feature to my sidebar with most of the links to the prophetic words given on my blogs. The links are all under the title "Words" for Our Times. These words are from 2009 and 2010 and they are more important now than ever. I will be adding to this list over time and linking to certain posts of other bloggers that I believe have this gift also.
Please remember that while reading these words that the reason God gives them to people is to help us not to frighten us. They are words from a loving God who sees his people walking blindly into grave danger spiritually and He is calling us to back to himself.
"God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him." 1 John 4:16
Everyone who reads this blog knows that I believe we live in serious times. To make the "words" I (or at times others) have been given more easily accessible I have added a new feature to my sidebar with most of the links to the prophetic words given on my blogs. The links are all under the title "Words" for Our Times. These words are from 2009 and 2010 and they are more important now than ever. I will be adding to this list over time and linking to certain posts of other bloggers that I believe have this gift also.
Please remember that while reading these words that the reason God gives them to people is to help us not to frighten us. They are words from a loving God who sees his people walking blindly into grave danger spiritually and He is calling us to back to himself.
"God is love, and whoever remains in love remains in God and God in him." 1 John 4:16
Friday, May 13, 2011
Spiritual gifts that are much needed today
It's no great secret to those of you who read my blog posts that I believe we live in "spiritually" critical times. I also believe that each and every one of us, though some may be as yet unaware of them, have special gifts from the Lord that can be a great help today in leading people back to the Lord and these gifts include charisms. Over the years, I have heard it said that these "charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit" are no longer necessary - that they were only for the early Church in order to better spread the Good News of Jesus Christ and add to the community of believers...but this is absolutely untrue. Not only is it untrue but this false statement is detrimental to Christianity in this day and age.
The Holy Spirit is working harder than ever to bring people to Christ. Some of the reasons that we don't see the more obvious manifestations of these gifts of the Holy Spirit today and why some believe they haven't received any of these gifts may be due to:
- a lack of faith
- blockages in the spirit (this may be because we may need to forgive others...or even ourselves)
- unconfessed sin
- sinful patterns of living
- a lack of understanding the immense power of God
- a reliance on human understanding
- a lack of charity
- a refusal (can be an "unconscious" refusal) of the gifts due to false humility or because of inner wounds that need healing
In order to be open to the Holy Spirit's work in and through us we have to rid ourselves of the overly scientific views that have been impressed upon us in today's secular society. We are spiritual as well as physical beings and science rarely, if ever, touches upon this aspect of human nature. There is nothing wrong with science itself but it is prudent to remember that without God there would be no science and science should be put in its proper place. There are many incredibly brilliant scientists out there who are utterly lacking in "spiritual intelligence". Not all, of course, but quite a few.
God is beyond science. God is beyond human intelligence.
God is the great I AM.
When praying for the gifts of the Holy Spirit - wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, we should also be asking Him to stir up the charisms (meaning gratuitous gift or favor) He has given us. In other words, these charisms are freely given to those who love the Lord. We don't merit these gifts...they are given out of the pure goodness of God.
Above, I stated some reasons why the Charisms of the Holy Spirit may not seem to "work" in some people. In actuality, they "work" very well indeed but there may be something blocking their full manifestation. One of the obstacles is a lack of faith. Disbelief. Even though Jesus states in the gospels that His followers would do even greater deeds than what He did, some people don't believe it. Faith is not so much believing in God, but rather, believing God. And that, my friends, makes all the difference. St. Paul tells us in 1 Cor 12:7-11:
"To each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another variety of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes."
I deliberately bolded "each individual" to point out that the gifts are for all, though they differ from person to person. St. Paul never wrote "to some individuals" but to "each". If the father of a family gathers his children around him one day and says that he has a gift for each of his children...he means all of them. Granted, the gifts may differ but they are still precious nonetheless and even more they "fit" the person receiving them.
You may be wondering why I mention faith first in regard to charisms and this is because a lack of faith is one of the largest stumbling blocks. How many times in the Bible does Jesus sigh over the lack of faith of his followers (see Mt 17:14-20, Mk 6:1-6 and Mk 4:35-40)? Many. He also often praises those who have great faith (see Mt 15:28 and Mk 5:34). This is just a small number of the scriptural passages which refer to faith or lack of it.
We could call the age we live in the "Age of Doubters". Many of us forget that God's laws supersede the "natural law". God's power supersedes man's power and man forgets this. This grieves God. We have lost our childlike awe of the mighty works of God. My prayer is that an outpouring of the Holy Spirit may come upon all believers.
There is a certain type of "spiritual snobbery" that exists today, sometimes seen among Catholics (but not limited to) and a number of people believe that they don't need these special gifts from the Spirit. Some even despise them and think that people today are "above" such things but the truth is that these charisms are meant to walk hand in hand with the other gifts and virtues God gives his children.
Why?
They are an enormous help in bringing others to Christ and they build up the Church. This in itself is the greatest reason of all.
I'll leave you with this quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church :
"There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning 'favor,' 'gratuitous gift,' 'benefit'. Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church."
The Holy Spirit is working harder than ever to bring people to Christ. Some of the reasons that we don't see the more obvious manifestations of these gifts of the Holy Spirit today and why some believe they haven't received any of these gifts may be due to:
- a lack of faith
- blockages in the spirit (this may be because we may need to forgive others...or even ourselves)
- unconfessed sin
- sinful patterns of living
- a lack of understanding the immense power of God
- a reliance on human understanding
- a lack of charity
- a refusal (can be an "unconscious" refusal) of the gifts due to false humility or because of inner wounds that need healing
In order to be open to the Holy Spirit's work in and through us we have to rid ourselves of the overly scientific views that have been impressed upon us in today's secular society. We are spiritual as well as physical beings and science rarely, if ever, touches upon this aspect of human nature. There is nothing wrong with science itself but it is prudent to remember that without God there would be no science and science should be put in its proper place. There are many incredibly brilliant scientists out there who are utterly lacking in "spiritual intelligence". Not all, of course, but quite a few.
God is beyond science. God is beyond human intelligence.
God is the great I AM.
When praying for the gifts of the Holy Spirit - wisdom, understanding, counsel, fortitude, knowledge, piety, and fear of the Lord, we should also be asking Him to stir up the charisms (meaning gratuitous gift or favor) He has given us. In other words, these charisms are freely given to those who love the Lord. We don't merit these gifts...they are given out of the pure goodness of God.
Above, I stated some reasons why the Charisms of the Holy Spirit may not seem to "work" in some people. In actuality, they "work" very well indeed but there may be something blocking their full manifestation. One of the obstacles is a lack of faith. Disbelief. Even though Jesus states in the gospels that His followers would do even greater deeds than what He did, some people don't believe it. Faith is not so much believing in God, but rather, believing God. And that, my friends, makes all the difference. St. Paul tells us in 1 Cor 12:7-11:
"To each individual, the manifestation of the Spirit is given for some benefit. To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom; to another the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit; to another faith by the same Spirit; to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit; to another mighty deeds; to another prophecy; to another discernment of spirits; to another variety of tongues; to another interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit produces all of these, distributing them individually to each person as he wishes."
I deliberately bolded "each individual" to point out that the gifts are for all, though they differ from person to person. St. Paul never wrote "to some individuals" but to "each". If the father of a family gathers his children around him one day and says that he has a gift for each of his children...he means all of them. Granted, the gifts may differ but they are still precious nonetheless and even more they "fit" the person receiving them.
You may be wondering why I mention faith first in regard to charisms and this is because a lack of faith is one of the largest stumbling blocks. How many times in the Bible does Jesus sigh over the lack of faith of his followers (see Mt 17:14-20, Mk 6:1-6 and Mk 4:35-40)? Many. He also often praises those who have great faith (see Mt 15:28 and Mk 5:34). This is just a small number of the scriptural passages which refer to faith or lack of it.
We could call the age we live in the "Age of Doubters". Many of us forget that God's laws supersede the "natural law". God's power supersedes man's power and man forgets this. This grieves God. We have lost our childlike awe of the mighty works of God. My prayer is that an outpouring of the Holy Spirit may come upon all believers.
There is a certain type of "spiritual snobbery" that exists today, sometimes seen among Catholics (but not limited to) and a number of people believe that they don't need these special gifts from the Spirit. Some even despise them and think that people today are "above" such things but the truth is that these charisms are meant to walk hand in hand with the other gifts and virtues God gives his children.
Why?
They are an enormous help in bringing others to Christ and they build up the Church. This in itself is the greatest reason of all.
I'll leave you with this quote from the Catechism of the Catholic Church :
"There are furthermore special graces, also called charisms after the Greek term used by St. Paul and meaning 'favor,' 'gratuitous gift,' 'benefit'. Whatever their character - sometimes it is extraordinary, such as the gift of miracles or tongues - charisms are oriented toward sanctifying grace and are intended for the common good of the Church. They are at the service of charity which builds up the Church."
Friday, July 24, 2009
The signs of the times
"Gross is the heart of this people,
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and be converted and I heal them."
Matthew 13:15
Take a look around you. Can you see the signs of the times? The whole earth is groaning.
This is a word that was given to my mother. " The whole earth is groaning." She also got
"I live in the praises of my people." Should we not praise Him? At the very least we should praise Him for his mercy and patience! Our country and our world are in rough shape. There are signs everywhere....wars, road rage, desecration of churches, blasphemy in art, abortion, the list goes on and on. Even nature is crying out! Why are we so blind? Do we want this for our children? Mother Mary says "Pray! Pray! Pray! " We as christians need to stand in the gap through intercessory prayer. Our very lives should be a prayer. The Lord's mercy is very great indeed, but we must accept this mercy and show it to others.
Praise thee, Lord, for thy mercy is infinite!
they will hardly hear with their ears,
they have closed their eyes,
lest they see with their eyes
and hear with their ears
and understand with their heart
and be converted and I heal them."
Matthew 13:15
Take a look around you. Can you see the signs of the times? The whole earth is groaning.
This is a word that was given to my mother. " The whole earth is groaning." She also got
"I live in the praises of my people." Should we not praise Him? At the very least we should praise Him for his mercy and patience! Our country and our world are in rough shape. There are signs everywhere....wars, road rage, desecration of churches, blasphemy in art, abortion, the list goes on and on. Even nature is crying out! Why are we so blind? Do we want this for our children? Mother Mary says "Pray! Pray! Pray! " We as christians need to stand in the gap through intercessory prayer. Our very lives should be a prayer. The Lord's mercy is very great indeed, but we must accept this mercy and show it to others.
Praise thee, Lord, for thy mercy is infinite!
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