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Beth Elohim — Seat of Kings

We find the first mention of the Stone of Witness in Genesis chapter 28, where we read the account of our father Jacob when he had the night vision of the ladder that ascended up to heaven.  In that vision, he received assurance that God was with him and would bless him mightily. “I am the Lord God of Abraham thy father, and the God of Isaac: the land whereon thou liest, to thee will I give it, and to thy seed; and thy seed shall be as the dust of the earth, and thou shalt spread abroad to the west, and to the east, and to the north, and to the south: and in thee and in thy seed shall all the families of the earth be blessed.  And, behold, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land; for I will not leave thee, until I have done that which I have spoken to thee of.  And Jacob awaked out of his sleep, and he said, Surely the Lord is in this place; and I knew it not.”   Genesis 28:13-16 Jacob called the name of that place 

Were You There?

There is an old song that goes “Were you there when they crucified my Lord?  Oh, sometimes it causes me to tremble!” If you had been there that dreadful day, watching our Lord and Master as He hung there, stripped and bleeding upon that cruel cross — what would you have done? Would you have run away and hidden as so many of His disciples had done?  They ran for fear of their lives.  They had followed Him, and for all they knew, they would die with Him.  This one who had given such words of wisdom and hope!  How could this be happening? Would you have disassociated yourself from Him as sharply as Peter had done earlier that day?  He vehemently denied the charge that He knew Christ, and then trembled in horror and disgrace as he heard the cock crow, for His Lord had foretold it. Would you have gathered around to witness this dreadful scene?  There were indeed those who were His followers in the crowd.  These were not scared off by this tragic scene.  They loved Him, and wanted to be with

Repentance Needed

 “If my people, which are called by my name, shall humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”   2 Chronicles 7:14 The reason our people are in the mess we’re in is not the politicians.  The political scene today is just a result of the real problem, which is that God’s people have turned away from Him. Like lost sheep we have gone astray, and things will never be right again unless we do what is needed and what is prescribed in the above verse of Scripture.  It is perhaps the most important Scripture of our day.  It may be an old familiar verse to the reader, but please . . . read it again . . . with fresh eyes. “If my people, which are called by my name, shall . . . humble themselves, and pray, and seek my face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin, and will heal their land.”   2 Chronicles 7:14 I look around and

Be Mindful of His Covenant

“Seek the Lord and his strength, seek his face continually.  Remember his marvellous works that he hath done, his wonders, and the judgments of his mouth; O ye seed of Israel his servant, ye children of Jacob, his chosen ones.  He is the Lord our God; his judgments are in all the earth.  Be ye mindful always of his covenant; the word which he commanded to a thousand generations; even of the covenant which he made with Abraham, and of his oath unto Isaac; and hath confirmed the same to Jacob for a law, and to Israel for an everlasting covenant.  Saying, Unto thee will I give the land of Canaan, the lot of your inheritance; when ye were but few, even a few, and strangers in it.  And when they went from nation to nation, and from one kingdom to another people; He suffered no man to do them wrong: yea, he reproved kings for their sakes, saying, Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.”   1 Chronicles 16:11-22 God covenanted with Abraham, and that covenant was an everlasting cov

America Return To Your First Love

“Thou hast left thy first love.”   Revelation 2:4 We had such a great beginning!  Our constitutional republic was built upon a solid foundation of freedom, liberty, rebellion against tyranny and, most importantly, faith and trust in God.  The Word of God was a part of our schooling from kindergarten on up.  There were churches absolutely everywhere and they were all full every Sunday.  Most people had biblical ideas about what was good and what was evil and, for the most part, we shunned that which is evil and celebrated life and wisdom and that which is good.  But somewhere along the way we left our first love, and we have fallen. We no longer teach our children the Word of God in the schools, we have taken the ten commandments down off the courthouse walls, and even down off the church walls, and we celebrate that which God calls abominable.  Is it any wonder we are in the pitiful state we are in? We have shunned wisdom, and so we have insanity.  We have shunned Christ, and so we hav

It’s All About Jesus

“And I beheld, and I heard the voice of many angels round about the throne and the beasts and the elders: and the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands; Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.  And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.  And the four beasts said, Amen. And the four and twenty elders fell down and worshipped him that liveth for ever and ever.”   Revelation 5:11-14 We have here before us an awesome scene. The imagery of Revelation chapters four and five is ripe with symbolism, types and shadows, but what leaps out at me is the fact that our Lord Jesus Christ is the center of everything. “. . . Lo

From Someone Who Lived There

As I write this, I am somewhat numb.  Anyone who has followed my ministry for a while knows that until 2018 my family and I lived in Uvalde, Texas. When I moved to Uvalde, I was fresh out of college.  My whole life was in front of me and I was ablaze with the fire of youthful zeal and enthusiasm.  I had answered the call of God to preach just a few years prior to attending college, and had served as a youth minister at a couple of churches in central and southwest Texas during and prior to college, then God called me to minister to the youth of Uvalde full time.  We held youth meetings and Bible Studies there, and in the surrounding area, as well as several area-wide evangelistic meetings, from 1986 until 2018, when the LORD called us up to Michigan to start a church. Shortly after I moved to Uvalde, my wife and I were married, and began our life together in Uvalde.  Our children were all born in Uvalde, four of whom were born in the very hospital you have seen on the new