Oil in our lamps

1 ¶  "Then shall the Kingdom of Heaven be likened unto ten virgins, who took their lamps and went forth to meet the bridegroom.2  And five of them were wise, and five were foolish.
3  They that were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,4  but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.5  While the bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept.
6  And at midnight there was a cry made: ‘Behold, the bridegroom cometh; go ye out to meet him.’
7  Then all those virgins arose and trimmed their lamps.8  And the foolish said unto the wise, ‘Give us of your oil, for our lamps are gone out.’9  But the wise answered, saying, ‘Not so, lest there be not enough for us and you; but go ye rather to them that sell, and buy for yourselves.’10  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and they that were ready went in with him to the marriage, and the door was shut.
11  Afterward came also the other virgins, saying, ‘Lord, Lord, open to us!’
12  But he answered and said, ‘Verily I say unto you, I know you not.’
13  Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of Man cometh.

Perhaps we have overlooked something in this parable: When the LORD came back, EVERYONE of the virgins were asleep! Half were prepared, though, for his coming, and half were not. Darkness has fallen, when the LORD tells us "no man can work", how will we then see? Well, if we have oil in our lamps, we will see quite well! So then, what steps must we take to ensure our lamps are full?

I believe the oil represents the anointing of the Holy Spirit, coming into our hearts through our intimate fellowship with Jesus Christ. We know that a dark time approaches, and we who are wise would prepare ourselves. We do not store up for ourselves treasures here on earth as those who know not God. Indeed, no matter how much food one would store, or guns one would have to defend it, when the apocalypse falls on this world, all will be washed away. But if we store up treasure in Heaven by practicing intimacy with the LORD we will have all that we need during the great tribulation. Remember, saints, "call 911"!



 He that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.
Psalm 91:1

Charles Templeton

Templeton, as many others, seems to have struggled with the age old question: If there is a God, why is there such misery and suffering in the world? The Bible records another man's struggle with this, and his story is found in the book of Job. After many trials, which Job thought were unfair, as he had done nothing to deserve them, Job accuses God of being unjust. So God answers Job "out of the whirlwind" and basically asks him where HE was when God created the world. That is, Job, if you have the power to Create as I do, maybe, just maybe, I will let you question my purposes.

God does what God does. If it seems unjust to us that only a small minority of people who have ever lived will be saved, what is that to Him? We are not in a position to question the Almighty. He offers us reconciliation, but on HIS terms, not ours.

Thus God, "opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble". All our objections to Him are resolved when we, like Job, meet Him face to face. In the end, Job says, "I had heard about you, but now I have seen you, and I repent in dust and ashes".

Thoughts on the election

 "Have ye not known? Have ye not heard? Hath it not been told you from the beginning? Have ye not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth, and the inhabitants thereof are as grasshoppers, who stretcheth out the heavens as a curtain and spreadeth them out as a tent to dwell in, who bringeth the princes to nothing; He maketh the judges of the earth as vanity. Yea, they shall not be planted, yea, they shall not be sown; yea, their stock shall not take root in the earth. And He shall also blow upon them, and they shall wither, and the whirlwind shall take them away as stubble." Isaiah 40:21-24



Here in Hawaii, the people had the chance to chose a moral, righteous, man for governor, but he was soundly defeated. Hard to see any silver lining here. But the LORD encourages me with these verses: It is nothing for Him to "bring the princes to naught". I don't believe the governor-elect will ever be able to bring his evil agenda to pass upon us, unless God allows him to do so.

Once I found out that the righteous candidate was not going to win (and as expected my own candidacy was soundly rejected) I got into my car. As I did, I looked down on an old gum package that said "Eclipse". Immediately the Spirit witnessed to me that something is coming, perhaps a supernatural storm, that will so far eclipse the events of this week that we will no longer even remember our former angst, so great will these times be.

Transformation Hawaii has a vision for the first Christian State. Of course, until Jesus comes back, this cannot exist, for His Kingdom is "not of this world". But is that to say that Christians cannot, and should not, try to influence government? Jesus said, "Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar's. When the NT was written, not a one of those men could have anticipated a republic such as we now have. In their days, kings ruled, with an elite class of nobles supporting them. How could they have spoken to our day? Yet our times and seasons have never been unknown to God. If we prepare ourselves for the day of judgment, we shall stand in the end.