http://www.fivedoves.com/letters/aug2012/nicole88-2.htm

Nicole (8 Aug 2012)
"I stay away from preachers who say all go in the rapture, its just a prayer, not a contrite heart"


I see online that there are hundreds of people coming against the holiness message of a contrite heart, repentance, broken spirit, fasting, dying to self message to prepare for the rapture. They say that you just get born again and then you go in the rapture. And they go back to their lives. I used to go to a Baptist Church and I left because the older women and men would drive their nice cars to the church and their best clothes and always talk about how are the kids, how are the grand-kids, how is business, how was that golfing trip? There was no talk about holiness, repentance, the mark of the beast, preparing to stand in front of a holy God. These people were from the old school church of the 1950's and 1960's where they were brainwashed with the American suburban dream. But my generation is like the generation of the 1930's, of the great depression era where people are hungry, there are no jobs, you have to move in with friends or family, turn off the cable and save money to eat. We are thirsting for real revival and a real awakening of the spirit to meet Jesus face to face in His holiness.

A good life with no hardship and a nice suburban life renders a happy go lucky, God is love attitude where everything is perfect and all go into the rapture. But hardship including home loss, job loss, car accidents, law suits, illnesses, death, no money, no vacations, no television cable, continuous evacuations due to fire or floods, etc. makes a person go back to the way things used to be....how things used to be in the 1800's when people were taught to be holy, and to rely on God for their crops that year, and to stay away from the city and not drink or caught up with the wicked. People used to get on their hands and knees to ask the Lord to watch over their crops and to feed them, they gave total surrender to the Lord in humbleness and then worked all day hard labor in faith. I remember when I was little and all the preachers in my family from the 1800's who preached holiness, to avoid hell at ALL COSTS, and really getting to know God. They had supernatural stories from their circuit preaching days when they would be in the hot sun on a covered wagon and things would just happen. I was so intrigued by this and thought why doesn't God do these things like He used to? And I realized now is because the American dream, the brainwashing of television, being caught up in being the best American dad or housewife, the fascination with sports, eating out, obsession with women trading recipes, etc. has led to distractions of not coming face to face with the Creator. We Americans have way too many distractions and I believe the Lord is removing those distractions from people in order for them to get back to Him. How shocking would it be for a person who lives in a Joel Osteen, your best life ever world in the suburbs with their perfect dogs, their Kate Spade handbags, their shopping trips who preach the message of love....to get to Heaven barely by the skin of their neck and not be close to the throne? Jesus showed me I was in that group in 2008. I had been saved yes...but I was still sinning in some ways and not dealing with my dirty salvation garment.

The Kingdom of God is progressive. That means that having an enormous enthusiasm to be holy, to preach His word, to get up everyday and be obedient, to help others is what Heaven is about. God's kingdom in Heaven is continuously building on itself. God is continuously creating new planets and worlds. So if we are lazy now and think that God needs to do everything for us on this Earth then where is the enthusiasm and our own free will? Yes the Holy Spirit will guide us, He will inspire us....but He is not going to do the work for us. We all have a responsibility to submit, to be obedient and do prepare ourselves. The Holy Spirit is not going to open that Bible for you, He is not going to pull your arms out of bed and force you to do anything. Merely He will suggest it and it is up to you to do it.

Just like praying Revelation 3:10 is not enough to keep you from the tribulation. There is a preparation and job that you must do in order to be kept. The Holy Spirit will guide you, but you have a free will to be obedient and walk down the narrow path. You must RESOLVE to keep running the race.

I think this post speaks for most of us if not all of us. None of us are perfected yet but we pray and strive by the Spirit of God to be be sanctified by the Living WORD and the Precious Blood of the Lamb.

Our walk, our living is a testimony of Hope to the hopeless.

To the brethren who live carnal and lukewarm lives, we pray at least I PRAY for them to be sanctified. We need the entire body of Christ believers to put the devil and his minions to shame.

That said, it is frustrating to see so many lukewarm and carnal Christians.

I am convinced the reason our country is in a severe drought is because much of the Christian community is trying to live their best life now in luxurious homes filled with blings just as the Israelites in Haggai.

There has been 30 minor earthquakes with 2 at 4.5 measurements in a particular area of Southern California (forget exactly where) the last 2 days.

Are stronger quakes on the way?

Come Lord Jesus!!

Carol G

P.S. Hi Steven