Watchman, what of the Night?

James 3:9-12: “With it we bless our Lord and Father; and with it we curse men, who have been made in the likeness of God; from the same mouth come both blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be this way. Does a fountain send out from the same opening both fresh and bitter water? Can a fig tree, my brethren, produce olives, or a vine produce figs? Neither can salt water produce fresh.” (NASB)

Just a thought: Forgiveness toward others will always follow as we begin to understand within our heart the awesome unsolicited sacrifice of God’s only Son; just to provide to us the bridge of forgiveness in order to restore the intimate fellowship with mankind that He once enjoyed. Yes! Even if no one used that bridge, it was still provided. That selfless – that loving act of my heavenly Father literally takes my breath away.

Prayer: My Father, my God, how can I hold back an unsolicited act of forgiveness toward another after what You did for me? May it never be! Amen and Amen!

Website: www.SoppMinistries.org

Neither Can Salt Water Produce Fresh

www.SoppMinistries.org/index24.htm

Matthew 28:19-20: “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” (NASB)

Just a thought: When it comes to the Great Commission – the salvation of souls, it transcends someone’s so called territory and/or denomination. It must be a joint effort as a body with Jesus as the head.

Prayer: Father, it is written that we need each other in order to properly function as a body. Can the mouth say to the foot, I have no need of you? Of course not! It is also written that there is consummate unity within the God Head for the salvation of mankind. My Lord and my God, may we begin to see that same selfless unity reflected in Your ambassadors here on earth. Please, do not allow Satan – the Devil even a small victory over the proclamation of Your glorious Gospel message through any form of division or territorialism within Your Church. Amen and Amen!

Website: www.SoppMinistries.org

The Priceless Gift!

www.SoppMinistries.org/index14.htm

2 Thessalonians 2:3: “Let no one in any way deceive you, for it (the day of the Lord) will not come unless the apostasy comes first.” (NASB)

1 Timothy 4:1-2: “But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons, by means of the hypocrisy of liars seared in their own conscience as with a branding iron.” (NASB)

2 Thessalonians 2:10-12: “With all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. And for this reason God will send upon them a deluding influence so that they might believe what is false, in order that they all may be judged who did not believe the truth, but took pleasure in wickedness.” (NASB)

Just a thought: The most important end-time sign of God’s coming judgment, and then the return of our Lord, can be found within the “Church” at-large. What makes this “Dark Age” different from the past, and absolutely bone-chilling to me, is the fact that this apostasy is happening in the face of the widespread knowledge of God’s Word. Whereas, in the past, God’s written Word was cut off from the general public. For the first time in human history, we are seeing the confluence – the fusion of apostasy and blaspheming the Holy Spirit. Blaspheming the Holy Spirit (calling evil good, and good evil) not in ignorance, but in the face of knowledge, i.e., the only unpardonable sin. (Note: We’re seeing this same scenario take place outside the “Church” as the Gospel is now being preached throughout the world. Again, another very important end-time fulfillment.)

In reference to the apostasy, right now, the fruit that the Church at-large is manifesting is statistically identical to the world, ranging from divorce to pornography. This cannot – it must not stand. Can God’s judgment be far off? After reading God’s very clear and precise warnings, none of us can afford to be looking to our left or to our right, can we? We must start looking into our own spiritual mirror. Let’s look at this logically: Looking at the dreadful statistics of the Church at-large, it cannot always be the other person, can it?

2 Corinthians 13:5: “Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you – unless indeed you fail the test?” (NASB)

The following quote is taken from the Preface of my book, The Portrait of a Christian: “If there was ever a time in the entirety of mankind’s history to take the above verse of Scripture seriously – it is today. In the above portion of Scripture, the Apostle Paul was not speaking to the unbeliever, but he was directly addressing his admonishment (warning) to those who identify themselves as Christians. This is very significant as Paul seemed to be very concerned about the very real possibility that everyone in Corinth who identified himself as a Christian may in fact not be a genuine born-again Christian at all.”

1 Thessalonians 5:3-6: “While they are saying, ‘Peace and safety!’ then destruction will come upon them suddenly like birth pangs upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, that the day should overtake you like a thief; for you are all sons of light and sons of day. We are not of night nor of darkness; so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us be alert and sober.” (NASB)

Prayer: My Lord, my Father, through the mirror of Your Word and the warnings of Your prophets, give me the eyes to see my true spiritual condition before it’s too late and terminal darkness – terminal blindness invades my heart. Oh Lord, I clearly see the labor pains of this world all around me, please open the eyes of my heart before destruction – Your judgment suddenly falls upon me and this world. Wipe the sleep from the eyes of my heart so that I may be alert and sober. For it is written, that today is the day of salvation. In fact, there may be no tomorrow for me, or Your age of grace may suddenly come to an end. Today is the day! Amen and Amen!

Website: www.SoppMinistries.org

Book: The Portrait of a Christian: Preface:

www.SoppMinistries.org/index36.htm

Book: The Portrait of a Christian:

www.SoppMinistries.org/index37.htm

Just a thought: This past Sunday night as I was listening to the sermon of a precious brother in my church, I found the Holy Spirit’s presence to be so palpable that I just could not stop smiling. His sermon was inspired by his life. He was feeling a bit depressed after being subjected to many severe trials within his family, making it necessary for him to be away from the pulpit for quite some time now. He recently came to the realization that he needed to regain his intimate walk with God, i.e., return to his first love.

I did not pay much attention to its significance until I received an Email the very next day from a long time friend of this ministry, and a dear brother and friend to me. He is a disabled veteran who told me he was going through a time of depression that he could not shake off; until our Lord spoke a couple of words to him in what seemed like an audible voice. I knew exactly what he meant about an “audible voice,” because it happened to me when my Lord called me into His ministry. It has happened to me only once, but if it ever happens to you, you will never be able to forget it.

In essence, the message – God’s words to my dear brother in the Lord were the same as the sermon the night before: Restore your intimacy with Me – return to your first love. He went on to tell me that during the past several months, he has been studying hard for an advanced degree in Theology, and yet, he found himself going deeper and deeper into depression. Yes, he was learning much about God, yet at the same time, he was losing his peace and joy.

He wrote specifically to me, because he began to read my book again, The Portrait of a Christian, and he also read a few of his favorite verses from his Bible. As he did this, his peace and joy started to return to him. I guess my Lord knew that I also needed a bit of encouragement. I was so blessed to learn that the Holy Spirit was using my book to help restore his intimacy with God (to God be the glory). I have always felt the main purpose for the book, that I believe God wrote through me, was not to tell people “about” Him, but to bring people back to an intimate knowledge of Him – to an intimate relationship with Him, i.e., return them to their first love. Again, to God be the glory!

I’m reminded of the Pharisees who knew a lot “about” God, but never really knew Him on an intimate level. Why? Well, perhaps it was because they treated the Word of God as an instrument of study – an instrument of Theology. But the Word of God is really God’s written conversation to and with mankind. And it should be treated as exactly that, a conversation. When you have a conversation with someone, do you study and memorize their words, or do you use it as an opportunity to get to know them? Believe it or not, God is a someone who wishes for you to get to know Him on an intimate level. God is not an “object” which you need to study and memorize each and every written word as a Theology. Indeed, with that approach, the Pharisees could not recognize God’s Word in flesh, Jesus. If we Christians want to truly be set free and possess His peace and joy despite our circumstances, we must, through His Holy Spirit who now dwells within, not only walk close to God, but also know and talk with God intimately on a daily basis.

Prayer: My Father, every time I lose my peace and joy, may I realize that it is the first warning sign that I need to return to my first love. May Your Holy Spirit help me to know You more intimately every day for the rest of my life here on earth. May Your Holy Spirit also help me to truly understand how precious and intimate the words “my Father” are. In fact, so precious and intimate it’s hard for my heart and head to believe it. Father, thank you for adopting me into Your family through the precious sacrifice of Your Son, Jesus. Amen and Amen!

Website: www.SoppMinistries.org

The Truth Shall Make You Free!

www.SoppMinistries.org/index15.htm

Would you like to help this ministry in our outreach effort at no cost to you?

I have few clear static-cling vinyl window signs for your car’s rear window, or for a store front window. The clear vinyl sign measures 2 inches by 14 inches with the following in white letters: SoppMinistries.org

The signs are designed to be placed on the inside of any window, and being made from static-cling clear vinyl they do not impede your view and the sign can be removed and replaced many times so you can easily clean your windows, or just move it to a new location.

If you would like to help in our outreach by placing a SoppMinistries.org sign on your car’s rear window, or store front, please Email me with your first and last name, and your current mailing address. (Please specify one or two.) Remember, I only have few left so when I run out – I run out.

I will not be confirming your request, so if you do not get one in the mail in about three weeks, well, I just want to say thank you for your willingness to help in our outreach.

God bless you!

Raymond D. Sopp

Email: RDSopp@SoppMinistries.org

Website: www.SoppMinistries.org