July 20, 2014
“There the angel of the LORD appeared to [Moses]
in flames of fire from within a bush.”
– Exodus 3:2
Moses had been born and raised in Egypt where he lived for forty years in Pharaoh’s palace before being exiled to the backside of the desert. There he tended his father-in-law’s flocks for 40 years. At the end of that time, God had a very critical message for him. But before Moses could hear the message, God had to get his attention.
So the angel of the Lord signaled Moses, using an ordinary element of nature in an extraordinary way. He used a scrub bush on the slopes of Mount Horeb, which He set on fire. When Moses stopped to investigate, he saw that although the bush was burning, it was not consumed. At that moment, God had his attention. Moses was ready to listen to God’s message. (Exodus 3:1-4)
I believe today that God is trying to get the attention of His people. He has a very critical message for us. And He is using ordinary elements of our environment in an extraordinary way for that purpose. This time He is not using a desert bush, He is using the sun and moon.
In Genesis 1:14…God said, Let there be lights in the expanse of the sky to separate the day from the night, and let them serve as signs to mark seasons and days and years. The word for “signs” means “signals.” And the word “seasons” means “feasts” or “divine appointments.” In other words, the primary purpose of the sun and the moon was not just to give light, not just to mark days and weeks and years, but to serve as signals for God’s divine appointments. Jesus affirmed this when He said there would be signs in the sun, moon and stars before He returns to earth. (Luke 21:25) He then gave the message: Be always on the watch, and pray… (Luke 21:36)
This year, 2014, there will be two total lunar eclipses, or what’s referred to as “blood moons.” They fall on the the divinely appointed feasts of Passover (April 15) and Tabernacles (October 8). Next year, 2015, there will be two more total lunar eclipses, or “blood moons,” that will fall on the very same feasts of Passover (April 4) and Tabernacles (September 28). Right in the middle of these four blood moons will be a total solar eclipse which will take place on the Jewish New Year, March 20, 2015. And arching over the second blood moon this year, the solar eclipse next year, and the third blood moon, is the Jewish Sabbatical year in which God commands the Jews to focus on Him. Without doubt, God is using the ordinary for something extraordinary. He is trying to get our attention.
What’s the critical message God is signaling us to pay attention to? Peter gave insight when he explained at Pentecost that in the last days, God says, …The sun will be turned to darkness (a solar eclipse) and the moon to blood (a lunar eclipse) before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. (Acts 2:17-21) Therefore, I believe the message God is giving us is a wake-up call to humble ourselves and pray and seek His face and turn from our wicked ways. Because the day of the Lord is near. (Joel 1:14-15) God’s patience has run out. God’s judgment is about to fall on our nation and on our world, and it’s going to be ugly. http://www.god.tv/national-day-of-prayer/video/national-day-of-prayer/anne-graham-lotz
Can we delay God’s judgment? Can we hasten the return of Jesus Christ to earth and therefore our deliverance from the judgment that’s coming? God’s promise in 2 Chronicles 7:14 indicates that our earnest seeking of God’s face and our humble repentance from sin, do make a difference. But we’ll never know that difference until in utter desperation, with nowhere else to turn, we fall on our faces, repent of our sin (not theirs), and cry out to God in prayer. This AnGeL is drawing your attention to ordinary elements that are being used in an extraordinary way to call out to you, It’s time to repent of your sins and pray. Now.
For His glory,
Click here for the Bible study especially developed for this newsletter.
If you would like to receive AnGeL Ministries’ full newsletter by email delivery or postal delivery,please click here to sign up for these free resources!
Download the full version of our print newsletter here.
As Anne describes in the timely message of this newsletter, God is using ordinary elements in an extraordinary way to get our attention because Jesus is coming. In her book, Expecting to See Jesus, Anne lists the signs Jesus gave His disciples in Matthew 24 that would characterize the end of the age, and aligns them with our generation. Then she guides us in practical application of how we should live accordingly. This book includes working sections on prayer and Bible reading that will refresh your devotional life, as you, too, live expecting to see Jesus.
Be sure to check out the “Expecting to See Jesus” resources in the store!
In this message, Sounding the Alarm, shared at the National Day of Prayer observance and based
on Joel 1, Anne points out the importance of knowing what time it is in human history, so that we can live accordingly. Through environmental, social, financial, national, religious and agricultural disasters, God is sounding the alarm. The time to wake up and to cry out to God in repentance and humility is now. As the signs of the end of the age and of His return are increasing in frequency and intensity, there is still time not only to embrace the hope that God promises, but to offer it to someone else.
Be sure to check out “Sounding the Alarm” resource in the store!
