1 Corinthians 1: 18

The land shall not be sold for ever: for the land is mine, for ye are strangers and sojourners with me.

For further study - Leviticus 25:1-24

As we come to our devotional reading today we read a portion of scripture that deals with a large piece of real estate that is the most controversial in the world, the land of Israel and the surrounding Arab States. God’s Word has the answer to the controversy.

The land of the Bible, the land inhabited by Jews and Arabs, is not the land of the Jews or the Arabs. The land belongs to God Himself, verse 23. It is His choice to whom the land will be given.

The land in question, Israel, is only one tenth of what the Lord has promised the Jews, Genesis 15:18. And yet, they are actually only caretakers - it is His land. Notice that again. The land does not belong to the Jews, or the Arabs, the “land”, all of it, belongs to God.

Notice again that I said the ”land” that now is occupied by the Jews is only “one tenth” of the land that God has promised them. According to the 38 different Biblical passages that deal with the true borders of the Jewish State of Israel, the “future Israel”, will be ten times what it is today.

The total landmass for the Jewish people will include land that is now being “occupied” by the Arab world and includes three quarters of Egypt, all of Israel, Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, and three quarters of Iraq and Saudi Arabia.

All the land that God has promised the Jewish people will only become theirs in the Millennial Kingdom. The land will in fact be theirs forever, even on the New Earth in “eternity future”. It is an “eternal inheritance” as is the New Jerusalem for the Christian - the New Jerusalem where God and Jesus will dwell among us, forever, Revelation 21:22.

PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord for making all things understandable. Thank you also Lord for the fact that You will keep Your promise to the Jewish people of their total area of “land” that they will receive in the future, it is assurance that You will keep all your promises to me as a Christian as well.

Luke 1 verse 37 - For with God nothing shall be impossible.
For further study - Luke 1: 1-38

I love the Christmas story as told by Matthew, the tax collector, and "Dr." Luke. These two men write about the most amazing, miraculous birth in the history of the world in only four chapters, Matthew 1 - 2 and Luke 1 - 2. In fact, the two men only use 168 verses to tell this marvelous story.

The verse I have chosen to be highlighted, vs. 38, says it all for this story, "nothing is impossible for God."

Look at the characters in this drama. There is an old couple that have not had any children because the wife had a barren womb. Her husband is one of the elderly priests serving at the Temple about 6 miles from their home in Ein Karem in the Judean forest outside of Jerusalem. The Priest, Zacharias, is chosen by lot to offer the incense on the altar of incense - a special privilege for any priest.

It is when he is performing his duties that the archangel Gabriel appears to tell Zacharias that his wife was going to have a child - something that Zacharias thought was impossible. In fact, because of his unbelief, he was made dumb - unable to speak - until the eighth day of his son's life.

From the Temple we journey over 90 miles to the very small village in the Galilee known as Nazareth. Here, once again, the impossible will be discussed by Gabriel and a young virgin girl who was engaged to a man whose name was Joseph. The young bride to be, Mary, when told by Gabriel that she was to birth the Messiah would respond by asking how that could be, since she had never had a sexual relationship with any man (vs. 34).

God loves the impossible, in fact, nothing is impossible with God (vs. 37). Out of the impossible, God would bring forth His Son, the one He would give the throne of His father David (vs. 32). Remember, God made a covenant with King David (II Samuel 7) that one of his sons would sit on the throne of the King in a temple in the city of Jerusalem one day.

The Prophet Jeremiah said that the sun, moon and stars would disappear before He broke His covenant with David (Jeremiah 33:20-21). By the way, it is impossible for the sun, moon and stars to disappear and it is impossible for God to break His covenant with King David. I guess there are some things impossible for God, that which He said He can not do.

You know the miraculous 1st coming of Jesus sets the stage for the 2nd coming of Jesus. It lays the foundation upon which we can rest assured He will keep His promise. I love the Christmas story.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord that you will do that which seems impossible - you will come again soon!
Luke 1 verse 37 - For with God nothing shall be impossible.

For further study - Luke 1:1-38

I love the Christmas story as told by Matthew, the tax collector, and "Dr." Luke. These two men write about the most amazing, miraculous birth in the history of the world in only four chapters, Matthew 1-2 and Luke 1-2.

In fact, these two writers of the Gospels only use 168 verses to tell this marvelous story. The verse I have chosen to be highlighted, verse 37, says it all for this story, "nothing is impossible for God."

Look at the characters in this drama. There is this old couple that have not had any children because the wife had a “barren womb”. Her husband is one of the elderly priests serving at the Temple, about 6 miles from their home in Ein Karem, in the Judean forest outside of Jerusalem.

The Priest Zacharias, was chosen, “by lot”, to offer the incense on the “altar of incense” - a special privilege for any priest. It is when he is performing his duties that the archangel Gabriel appears to tell Zacharias that his wife was going to have a child - something that Zacharias thought was impossible. In fact, because of his unbelief, he was made dumb - unable to speak - until the eighth day of his son's life.

From the Temple we journey north some 90 miles to the very small village in the Galilee known as Nazareth. Here, once again, the impossible will be discussed by Gabriel and a young virgin girl who was engaged to a man whose name was Joseph.

The young bride to be, Mary, when told by Gabriel that she was to birth the Messiah would respond by asking how that could be, since she had never had a sexual relationship with any man, verse 34.

God loves the “impossible”, in fact, nothing is impossible with God, verse 37. Out of the impossible, God would bring forth His Son, the one He would give the “throne” of His father David, verse 32. Remember, God made a covenant with King David, II Samuel 7, that one of his sons would sit on the throne of the King in a Temple in the city of Jerusalem one day.

The Prophet Jeremiah said that the sun, moon and stars would disappear before He broke His covenant with David, Jeremiah 33:20-21. By the way, it is impossible for the sun, moon and stars to disappear and it is impossible for God to break His covenant with King David. I guess there are some things impossible for God, those things which He said He can not do.

You know the miraculous “first coming” of Jesus sets the stage for the “second coming” of Jesus. It lays the foundation upon which we can rest assured He will keep His promise. I love the Christmas story.
PRAYER THOT: Thank you Lord that you will do that which seems impossible - you will come again soon!

Luke 2 vs.12 - And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.

For further study - Luke 2:1-20

Can you believe - the Christmas story in April! The fact is that the Christmas story is good anytime. Our key verse has an interesting statement, "and this shall be a sign unto you." And then Dr. Luke records what the angel said to the shepherds, that they would find the newborn babe, God-man, Jesus Christ, in a manger wrapped in swaddling clothes.

For the longest time I could not understand why that would be a sign to the shepherds. Then one day I ran across a comment about the connection to the sign in a place in the Shepherd's Fields called the

Tower of the Flock. In the Hebrew, the phrase is, "Migdal Edar."

"Migdal" is Hebrew for "tower" and "Edar" is "flock" in the Hebrew language. The phrase is only used twice in the Bible - Genesis 35:21 and Micah 4:8.

In the Genesis passage, "Migdal Edar" is referring to the location that Jacob pitched his tent after he buried his wife Rachel who had died in childbirth. "Migdal Edar" is on the road between Bethlehem, where Rachel was buried, and the city of Jerusalem which is only three miles away. The other mention of "Migdal Edar" or "tower of the flock" in Micah 4:8 is a prophecy that the announcement of the Messiah would be at "Migdal Edar".

I must tell you that "Migdal Edar" was a watchtower in the Shepherd's Fields of Bethlehem. It was a two-story stone structure out in the fields. On the top story, a shepherd would stand watching over the flock to make certain that the sheep were not being harmed.

Remember, the sheep raised in the Shepherd's Fields of Bethlehem were destined for the temple sacrifice three miles away. Remember, these sheep must be without blemish or spot, perfect in order to be sacrificed.

The bottom floor of "Migdal Edar" was for the birthing of these lambs. And from the beginning, they must be perfect. The shepherd would take the newborn lamb and wrap it in swaddling clothes to keep it from harming its limbs. After wrapping the baby lamb, the shepherd would lay it in a manger until the newborn had calmed down.

The shepherds knew this procedure and, when told it would be a sign, they re-called Micah 4:8 and with haste (Luke 2:16) ran to see the newborn Jesus, the Son of God.

By the way, read all of Micah 4. It tells of a coming Jewish temple, peace in the Middle East, a return to the Jews to the land and an alignment of nations against Israel. These are all prophecies that will be fulfilled as was the one of "Migdal Edar". Bible prophecy will be fulfilled, and soon.

PRAYER THOT: Thank you for prophecy fulfilled by your first coming and those that tell of your second coming.

Luke 4 vs8 

And Jesus answered and said unto him, Get thee behind me, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and him only shalt thou serve.

For further study -Luke 4:1-13

In each passage of Scripture I discuss with you in our daily devotion, I endeavor to point out some very practical principles that will help each of us in our Christian experience. This will be the case today as well.

I also will point out prophetic passages and help you to look to the future for the fulfillment of these passages. Today, we will do that before we finish our thoughts about this passage.

There are some great practical principles found in these 13 verses of our reading. Notice that the Devil comes to tempt Jesus in a time of seeming weakness. Our Lord was 40 days in the wilderness going without food. The Devil is right there beside Him to put the Lord to the test in three different approaches.

First, the Devil tries the physical. The Lord has not eaten and the Devil challenges Him to turn the stone into bread. Jesus said to the Devil, the Word of God is more important than eating. One cannot live by only satisfying the physical need for food.

Then the Devil offers Jesus the kingdoms of this world. At this point, the Lord tells Satan to get behind Him, a method of resisting the Devil, James 4:7.

The third challenge was for Jesus to jump from the high spot of the temple into the arms of the angels who were to protect Him, Psalm 91:11-12. Notice the Devil even used the Scriptures to tempt Jesus. The Lord responded and told the Devil he was not allowed to tempt the Lord, Deuteronomy 6:16.

The other great truth, a very practical truth found in this passage, is the fact that the Lord responded each time to the Devil by quoting Scripture, verse 4, verse 8, and verse 12. Our defense against the Devil is the Word of God. We need to have it in our hearts and minds so well that we can respond to the Devil's testing by quoting Scripture.

Now let’s look at the prophetic significance of the passage. Notice that the Devil said to Jesus that he had the “kingdoms of this world” and the power to give the kingdoms of this world to our Lord. Under the sovereignty of God, the Devil does have control of the kingdoms of this world at this time in history.

In reality, the Devil has had the “kingdoms of this world” since Genesis 3, the fall of man. He will have those kingdoms until the Lord returns and sets up His Kingdom given to Him by God the Father, Daniel 7:13-14.

From that point on, Jesus is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords. Satan will be bound for the first 1000 years of the Lord's Kingdom reign, Revelation 21:3, and then thrown into the Lake of Fire, Revelation 20:7-10 for eternity.

The “king of this present world”, Satan, will be defeated and imprisoned by the King of all Kings, Jesus Christ. That time in history is drawing closer every day.

PRAYER THOT: Help me, dear Lord, to learn and know the Word of God so that I will be able to use it when the testing comes to me.


Luke 16 verse 22 

And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried;

For further study - Luke 16:19-31

In the devotional passage found in the Gospel of Luke that we are reading for today, I chose verse 22 as our key verse because of the great truth it reveals for those of us who are believers in Jesus Christ, Christians.

Notice, at death, what happens to us as believers. God dispatches “angels” to come gather us up and take us into the presence of the Lord. We don't die “alone”, angels are there to comfort us for the journey into His presence.

What a blessed thought for us as we face that time, that time we will all face unless the Rapture should come first. I must be honest, I would much rather the Rapture happen first, and may it happen today.

The rest of our reading for today details the characteristics of the eternal hell, the "lake of fire" that has been prepared for the devil and his angels, Matthew 25:41. I know this passage is referring to "hades" which is the place of departed human spirits between death and resurrection.

It is now the place for all lost ones until the Great White Throne Judgment, Revelation 20:11-15. However, "hades", hell, has the same conditions as the "lake of fire".

Verse 23 says it’s a place of "torment", "where the worm dieth not and the fire is not quenched", Mark 9:44. It's also a place of "thirst", verse 24. One single drop of water, not a gallon jug, tea glass or spoonful, just one tiny drop of water would "cool the tongue".

Verse 25 reveals that there will be "thinking" in the eternal "lake of fire." Those who make the choice to reject Jesus Christ and follow the lie of Satan will "think" forever, of every sermon, song and solicitation of the gospel he or she has ever heard. The "thinking" will last forever.

Those are the "conditions" for "hades" and also the eternal "lake of fire." The "constraint" of this place is that all who end up going there will only be released to appear before Jesus Christ at the Great White Throne Judgment, Revelation 20:13, only to be cast into the "lake of fire," forever, Revelation 20:15.

Finally, notice the "compassion" of the rich man in "hades." He wanted to return to life, so that he could tell his brothers of the "judgment" to come if they rejected Jesus Christ. We need to understand the realities of hell and its eternal judgments, then we would have the compassion that we need for our loved ones, friends and the lost people of this world.

The times we live in today seem to indicate the soon coming of the Lord Jesus Christ. This urgency should motivate us to go forth to win the lost to Jesus so that they escape the “eternal fires” of hell.

Prayer Thot: Dear Lord, give me the compassion of the rich man in "hades", a compassion for the lost, as I come to better understand the conditions and constraints of the "lake of fire".

Luke 17 vs28 

Likewise also as it was in the days of Lot; they did eat, they drank, they bought, they sold, they planted, they builded; For further study - Luke 17:22-37

This passage in Luke 17 is another of those conversations that Jesus had with His disciples and one of the times when He would be teaching them prophecy. In this message the Lord uses some of the same information as used either before, or that he would use later in His teachings.
Notice verse 26, where our Lord speaks of the "Days of Noah" as He will, chronologically, later, in Matthew 24, Mark 13 and Luke 21. By the way, the last of this chapter helps to explain about those who were "taken" in these prophetic passages in Matthew, Mark and Luke.
In verses 34-36 Dr Luke records the words of Jesus about those who would be "taken". If you don't understand that in this passage Jesus is speaking of His Second Coming, and not the Rapture, you will get mixed up eschatologically.
At the Rapture those who are Christians will be "taken" into the heavenlies to join Jesus, forever. However, when a passage is referring to the Second Coming the ones "taken" are the ones who go to "judgment" and the ones "left" will "rule and reign" with Christ in His Kingdom to come.
To better understand this principle Jesus gives us the last verse in Luke 17. When asked where the people would be "taken" the Lord said, to "where the eagles be gathered together", verse 37.
In that context, you may want to read Job 39:27-30 which explains that where the "eagles gather together is a place of judgment." Therefore, those "taken" in Matthew 24, Mark 13, Luke 17 and 21 are all taken to judgment.
The ones "left" are the ones who will join Jesus to rule and reign. At the Rapture, a different event from the Second Coming, separated by at least seven years, the ones "taken" are the Christians.
Before we leave this passage, notice verse 28. The Lord had mentioned the "Days of Noah" which took place 4,500 years ago. In His mention of the "Days of Lot", these days were 4,000 years ago, days after the worldwide flood.
Interestingly, the "Days of Noah" were days when angels, the "sons of God" had a sexual relationship with the "daughters of men", Genesis 6:1-4 and Jude 6 and 7.
The "days of Lot" also referred to the Jude passage, which was a time when the people, "gave themselves over to fornication", at Sodom and Gomorrah. Today it is referred to as homosexuality. I prefer the Biblical terminology, "sodomy", men, sexually with men and woman sexually with woman.
Because of this "sodomy" God destroyed the civilization of Sodom and Gomorrah. Today "sodomy" is allowed throughout all of society by educational, governmental and even religious leaders.
God does not hate "sodomites", the person, but "sodomy", the act. Jesus said when you see this type of "un-Godly sexual behavior" and see it as very prevalent in our society, that is a time when He could return to the earth.
We are living in those days. Jesus is coming and it could be in the "days" like the "days of Lot". Keep looking up!
Prayer Thot: Lord, give me a Godly love for sodomites so that I can lead them to Jesus Christ as their Savior, and help me to be aware of the days of Your coming.

Luke 19 vs42

Saying, If thou hadst known, even thou, at least in this thy day, the things which belong unto thy peace! but now they are hid from thine eyes.

For further study - Luke 19:41-48

Our key verse has a relationship with the ancient Jewish prophet Daniel and his writings, which I will get to in a moment. Let me set the scene for you as you read the extended portion of our devotional.

The previous thirteen verses, verses 28-40, are a description of the Lord's "Triumphal Entry" into the city of Jerusalem and onto the Temple Mount. The people who had rejected the Lord now welcomed Him into the city as a ruling King.

It is interesting to note the response of the Pharisee, verse 39, and what Jesus had to say to them as they complained to the Lord of all the commotion by the His disciples, asking Jesus to rebuke His disciples. Jesus responded with, if He had shut up those who welcomed Him the “stones would have cried out for Him”.

Verses 45 and 46 reveal the "priestly" attitude of Jesus against the money-changers in the Temple. He rebuked these money-changers and threw them out of the Temple. In verses 47 and 48 we see Jesus the "prophet", the teacher who taught in the Temple complex the people who were attentive to hearing Him.

But now back to our key, verse 42. Jesus was very moved when He stood atop the Mount of Olives overlooking the Temple Mount in the city of Jerusalem. Luke wrote that "Jesus wept" over what He saw, a needy people who had rejected their Messiah.

Then Jesus said that on this day of His "Triumphal Entry" the people failed to receive the One described in Daniel's prophecy, Daniel 9:25-26. An in-depth study of this prophetic passage in Daniel would show that this day when Jesus entered Jerusalem, He was doing so on the day Daniel predicted it would happen.

Daniel's prophecy indicates that from the decree by Artaxerxes, Nehemiah 2, to allow Nehemiah to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the streets and walls of the city, which took place April of 445BC, until the day, Saturday, in April 30AD when Jesus made His Triumphal Entry, could be figured out to the exact day (see my audio series, "The Daniel Papers).

The day Jesus stood there was that day predicted, not the day before or the day after. Jesus got to Jerusalem on the exact day it was foretold for Him to be there. The people of Jerusalem had not read Daniel's prophecy. They did not recognize He was to be there in Jerusalem at that time.

This is also the case with us today. We can determine where we are in God's "prophetic time" by studying His "prophetic word". We must study the prophetic Word of God to recognize when Jesus is coming back. It could be today!

Prayer Thot: Help me to understand, dear Lord, Your prophetic Word so that I can recognize the days I am living in and help me to live in light of that understanding.
Luke 21 vs24 - And they shall fall by the edge of the sword, and shall be led away captive into all nations: and Jerusalem shall be trodden down of the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled.

For further study - Luke 21:20-28

For the third straight day we go to the "well" of the "Olivet Discourse" for a "prophetic prospective" that applies to our day as well as to the day Jesus spoke these words on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem and Dr Luke recorded them for us so that we might be able to read and learn from this passage, today.

Verses 5 and 6 of Luke 21 are parallel verses to both Matthew 24:1-3 and Mark 13:1-3. Jesus, while teaching on the Temple Mount on Tuesday afternoon of "Passion Week," made an astounding statement as He walked from the Temple, through the Eastern Gate, across the Kidron Valley and onto the Mount of Olives.

Jesus looked back at the twenty-one story Temple shining brightly on the Jerusalem horizon, because of the gold on this worship center, and the Lord made a prediction that one day in the near future there would not be a stone standing upon a stone on this majestic Temple.

The disciples gathered quickly around Jesus to ask Him more about His statement concerning the Temple. In the record of the "Olivet Discourse" filed in Matthew 24 Jesus does not respond to the question of the disciples as to when His prophecy would be fulfilled.

However, in our devotional reading for today, Luke records what the Lord told the disciples about the destruction of this Temple. In Luke 21:5-28 you have Luke's version of the entire "Olivet Discourse".

In verses 20-24 you have the answer to the disciples question about when the Temple would be destroyed. Jesus said, verse 20, that when they saw "armies" gathered around Jerusalem that would be a "significant sign" as to when the Temple's destruction would take place.

Jesus told the disciples that when they did see the "warning signs" to "flee to the mountains", verse 21. In the context of historic fact about the Roman Army who surrounded Jerusalem and the Temple for three years we can see how things unfolded.

General Titus gave the order to destroy the Temple and this mighty Roman Army followed through on that infamous day in 70 AD. I believe the Jews in 70 AD fled to "Masada" a "fortress stronghold" built by Herod the Great at the southwestern corner of the Dead Sea.

I make this statement because of verse 24. This verse gives us information about what happened the day the Temple was destroyed and literally ripped apart, stone by stone with no stone remaining upon another as the Roman Army finished their destructive work.

By the way, the prophecy of Jesus was fulfilled almost forty years to the day after the Lord gave this prophecy. Notice verse 24 again, it is detailing how when the Temple was destroyed the Jews were scattered to the nations of the world.

Then another prophecy about Jerusalem appears. The prophecy is that the Temple Mount will be "trodden down of the Gentiles until the times of the Gentiles be fulfilled". "Gentiles", the United States, European Union, the United Nations, Arab Nations and all Gentile nations of the world who play a role in having control of the city of Jerusalem today and in particular the Temple Mount.

These Gentiles will continue to do so until Jesus comes back to Jerusalem and destroys the "Gentile world powers." The stage is set for this prophecy to be fulfilled. Remember, the Rapture happens first and then these prophecies are fulfilled.

By the way, the Rapture could happen today!

Prayer Thot: Help me to understand Your prophetic warnings and to then apply them to my life as I live expectantly awaiting Your return, even so come quickly, Lord Jesus.

Malachi 1 verse 4 - Whereas Edom saith, We are impoverished, but we will return and build the desolate places; thus saith the LORD of hosts, They shall build, but I will throw down; and they shall call them, The border of wickedness, and, The people against whom the LORD hath indignation for ever.

For further study - Malachi 1:1-5

I have an audio series called "Malachi - A Middle East News Update" that deals with all four chapters of this the last book in the Old Testament. The last book of the Old Testament is indeed a “Middle East News Update” and today we look at the first installment of the “MENU”.

This book comes just before the 400 years of silence from the heavens, before Jesus Christ comes to earth as the "God-man" to become our Saviour by His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead. The last two verses of chapter 4 link to the New Testament and the book of Matthew.

Today we look at the first five verses of Malachi and notice the Lord's attitude towards "Edom," the descendants of Esau, twin brother of Jacob. Verses 2 and 3 reveal to us that the Lord “loves Jacob” and “hates Esau”. You might question whether God is “unrighteous”. Paul the Apostle answered that question in Romans 9. Paul quoted this passage in Malachi, Romans 9:13, and then spoke to the issues of the unrighteousness of God. Paul says "God forbid, there is no unrighteousness in God". If you read Romans 9:10-14 you see the statement "Jacob have I loved and Esau have I hated" has to do with sovereign selection and nothing to do with salvation.

Before their birth God’s “sovereign selection” chose Jacob, the second born over the first born, Esau, to give the birthright, reserved for the first born. Jacob would also receive the blessing, which was to be pronounced upon the eldest son at his Father's death. God chose the younger, Jacob over the elder, Esau, for His own purpose.

The passage in Romans comes from a passage which was here in Malachi where the Lord speaks of the destruction of Esau's land and his legacy, verse 4.

Edom, says that though he was destroyed, he will return and rebuild.

The Lord responded to Edom saying he could rebuild - but He would tear down and call Edom's borders "the borders of wickedness." Then the Lord said He would have indignation against the Edomites as long as He is God, that's forever!

In my audio series, "Esau and the Palestinians," I trace the descendants of Esau all the way through history to the Palestinian people of today. The Lord has pronounced judgment on the Edomites; they will be as if they have never been, as Sodom and Gomorrah, Jeremiah 49:16-18.

We are living in the days that Malachi wrote about, the days when the Edomites, the Palestinians, have returned, which they have done in the last 100 years. And at this time they are trying to rebuild. There has never been a day like this in history and we're alive in it. The Lord's return is closer now than it has ever been. In fact, the Rapture could happen today, so keep looking up.

PRAYER THOT: Help me to live this day as if it would be the day of the Rapture.