Activated Magazine 2005 / 05

(Traditional Chinese Activated mag 5 of volume 2--text mostly from English issues April 2003 and July 2001)

cover--

Living with the Rose

Pressured?
Temple Time

 

page 2
This is Activated magazine volume 2 issue 5. If you are interested in receiving more issues or ordering some of our inspiring and strengthening Bible-based publications, please write, phone or e-mail us today! Thank you!

(address of various Activated desk around the world)

(credits)

© 2002 Aurora Production, Ltd.
All Rights Reserved

Golden Sunrise Production
(address)
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Unless indicated otherwise, all
Scripture quotations in Activated! are
from the Chinese Union Bible, Chinese Living Bible,
Modern Chinese Bible & new Chinese Bible.

 

Personally Speaking
 
          The world is speeding up--and it's taking us with it! Former generations never had to cope with the pressures we do. Job insecurity and competition in the marketplace have everyone from factory workers to CEOs under pressure to produce. More and more people must hold down several jobs just to make ends meet--and the pressure doesn't stop when the workday ends. Parents go home to challenges their parents never imagined. Students study & take on courses for their future job & success opportunities, causing them to be under a lot of pressure. Nearly everyone is trying harder than ever to be richer, more glamorous, more successful, more powerful, and more famous. Isn’t the price of these so called “goals of life” too great?
Wait a minute! Just when you are busy striving for your goals, do you know how much Jesus cares about everything about you? He has a perfect solution to every problem, and He always knows how to deal with everything. Not only that, He clearly understand everything that we need, He says in John 15:15-“I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you” Think about that! Jesus is your closest friend, & wants to teach you wisdom from His Heavenly Father.
His Word is not only alive and powerful, but wonderful. He wants to speak to each of us through it, as He did with His disciples when He lived and taught each of them.
We hope this issue of Activated! will help you to establish a more direct personal relationship, so you can solve the pressure you face through this closeness with Him, and let Him bring you real peace and enjoy the beautiful life He gives you while you are trying your best!

Hsu Ling
For the Activated family.

page 3
The Oyster

An oyster on the ocean
floor opened wide its shell.
As its valves flushed seawater
through, the oyster picked out
minute particles of food.
Suddenly a large fish
nearby stirred up a cloud of
sand and silt with a flip of its
tail. Sand! Oh, how the oyster
disliked sand! It was so rough
that it made life very unpleasant
for the oyster whenever
any got inside its shell.
Quickly the oyster
slammed its shell shut, but it
was too late. One hard, gritty
grain of sand had gotten in
and become lodged between
the oyster’s flesh and shell.
How that piece of sand
bothered the oyster! But
almost immediately, special
glands God had given the
oyster for coating the inside
of its shell went to work, coating
the irritating grain of sand
with a shiny, smooth covering.
Year after year the oyster
added more layers, until at last
it had produced a beautiful,
lustrous pearl of great value.
**
Our problems are like that
grain of sand. They bother
us, and sometimes we wonder
why we have to suffer the
irritation and inconvenience
they can be. But God will
work wonders with our
problems and weaknesses, if
we will let Him. We become
more humble, more prayerful,
closer to the Lord, wiser and
better able to cope with other
problems that come our way.
Like blessings in disguise, the
Lord soon takes the rough
pieces of sand in our life and
turns them into precious
pearls of inner strength, and
they become an inspiration to
others.

 

The secret of calm
and peace and rest
and patience and
faith and love is
resting in the
Lord—getting calm
before the Lord and
praising and
seeking Him first.
Then you impart
this same spirit, or
atmosphere, to
others.
—D. B. B.
Peace is not the
absence of conflict,
but the presence of
God no matter what
the conflict.
The Lord said, “My
yoke is easy and My
burden is light,” but
there’s one condition
to it—“come
unto Me!”
—D. B. B.

pages 4-5
Pressured?
Two time-tested steps
For shedding stress
Maria David
When it seems there is much more to be done than there is time to do it, it's easy to get under pressure. We think we're not getting enough done or are not getting it done quickly enough, so we push ourselves harder. But the fact of the matter is that when we do that, we usually wind up being less effective and getting even less done.
Stress hinders us in a number of ways: It puts extra strain on our nervous system, which diminishes our mental capacities. It causes us to try to go too fast, so we're not as careful and prayerful as we should be and are therefore more likely to make mistakes. It squelches inspiration. It makes us irritable and harder for others to work with. It can really take the joy out of life! Allowing ourselves to get under pressure is counterproductive in every way.
Pressure?-Or peace?
Learning to recognize when we're starting to get under pressure and then taking positive steps to counter that feeling is probably one of the most important work habits we could build-and the very best way to do that is to ask the Lord for help.
First, we need to ask Jesus to help us see the early warning signs, and second, we need to learn to give our worries and cares to Him and trust Him to do the work through us, His way and in His time.
It is possible to be very busy and have a whole lot to do without feeling under pressure; the secret is to cast our cares on the Lord. "Casting all your care upon Him, for He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7).
How is this done? The Bible explains: "Don't worry about anything. Instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don't forget to thank Him for His answers. If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7 TLB).
First things first
Pressure is the enemy! That's especially true for Christians, because when we feel under pressure, the first thing to get crowded out of our schedule is often the very thing we need most--our time with the Lord.
You could be the most organized person in the world, but if you neglect your time with the Lord, your spirit will suffer. Personal happiness and fulfillment, successful relations with others, productivity, and everything else that really matters in life all depend on your keeping your connection with the Lord strong, getting spiritually nourished from His Word, being refreshed and refilled by His Spirit, and taking time to love and be loved by Him.
To get the Lord's perfect peace, you have to take time with the Lord. To take time with Him, you have to trust that whatever urgent work you have is in His hands and under His control. To trust Him, you have to understand and embrace the wonderful truth that He loves you so much He wants to help you with every aspect of your life.
He is concerned about you and your happiness. He wants to be involved. He wants to help you with your workload, and He will help you as much as you let Him. He will lighten your load incredibly if you'll just ask Him.
So when you begin to feel under pressure, the smartest thing you can do is stop and ask the Lord for help. He wants you to bring your problems to Him, and if you will, He will soothe your ruffled nerves, calm your mind, and show you what to do.
Taking that time to pray and commit your work to the Lord is the best way in the world to alleviate pressure. It's like opening the pressure valve of your spirit. If you don't take that time with Him, the pressure continues to mount.
Jesus has all the answers!
Of course, it's also important to pray and ask the Lord to help you organize your work. As you take time with the Lord, He can inspire you with ideas that will make your way clear and simple so you don't get under such pressure in the first place.
You'll be amazed at how specific the Lord can be in His instructions about your schedule and how to go about your work. He'll show you your priorities. He'll give you tips on how to get them done most effectively and efficiently. He'll help you avert many of the time-wasting problems that put you under pressure by reminding you of things you have forgotten or overlooked or had no other way of knowing. He'll also cause His love to come shining through, no matter what you need to do. That can go further than almost anything in lightening your load and brightening the lives of those around you.
Jesus said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light" (Matthew 11:28-30). The Bible also promises that, "You [God] will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You" (Isaiah 26:3). If you learn to let Jesus take over more of your life and work, and thus bear more of the load, you'll find that things will run smoother, faster, and more efficiently. It could change your life!
When you’ve learnt these tips, His love can spread to others through you even more, to encourage the people around you!

(Quotes in right hand column:)
If the job seems to be too hard for you, take it to Jesus.
*
No work is too important to stop for a few minutes of inspiration and refreshing from on high, spiritual renewal and physical rest--a little love feast with the Lord.
*
We are to wait upon the Lord. He that waits upon the Lord shall renew his strength instead of wearing out.
*
So many take their burdens to the Lord and lay them on the altar, and then pick them right back up again and walk off with them!
*
When you have so much talent and ability in the natural it's hard for you to just let go and let God.

pages 6 - 7

A Persian fable says, one day
A wanderer found a piece of clay
So redolent of sweet perfume,
Its odor scented all the room.
“What are thou?” was the quick demand.
“Art thou some gem of Samarkand,
Or spikenard rare in odd disguise?
Or other costly merchandise?”
“Nay, I am but a piece of clay.”
“Then, whence this wondrous sweetness, pray?”
“Friend, if the secret I disclose,
I have been living with the rose.”

 

LIVING WITH THE ROSE
CHRISTIANS ARE SUPPOSED TO
TRY TO BE LIKE JESUS—living as
He would, acting as He would,
speaking as He would, and even
thinking as He would. But how
do we accomplish that? How
can we be more like Him? As in
the Persian fable, it comes from
living close to Jesus (2 Corinthians
3:18).
Many of us do spend time
with the Lord, but how much
quality time do we spend with
Him, where we shut out the
business of the day and give
Him our full attention, communing
with Him, enjoying Him, and
getting to know Him better in
order to become more like Him?
If we don’t, no matter how many
good qualities we possess or
how dynamic we are or how
dedicated we are, no matter how
good we are with people or what
else we may have going for us,
if we’re not spending time with
Jesus, we’re not going to be a
very good reflection of Him or
His love to others.
The dictionary defines
“communion” as “a feeling of
emotional or spiritual closeness,
a connection.” So communing
with Jesus means to make an
emotional and spiritual connection
with Jesus. Praise, prayer,
and reading God’s Word are all
ways of making and sustaining
that connection. These are the
lifeblood of our spiritual lives, the
most vital ingredient in our walk
with the Lord—prayer, praise,
and the Word.
Many of us tend to pick up
the pace when our workloads
and responsibilities increase, and
that leads to more stress. Taking
time off and relaxing alone or
with family or friends can help
relieve the pressure, but friends
or family or time alone can’t give
us what Jesus can.
Hobbies can also be relaxing
and fun, but if we’re not careful,
they can actually contribute to
the problem by taking time away
from the essentials, including
the most essential—taking time
with the Lord. That’s a common
mistake people make—filling
every spare moment with more
“busyness,” when the Lord wants
them to take that time with Him.
The surest way to complete
and lasting renewal—in fact,
the only way—is to spend time
with Jesus. We need His love and
strength and wisdom, and the
only way we can get those is by
spending time with Him.
But carving out time from
your daily schedule is no guarantee
that you’re going to get
closer to the Lord; it’s what you
do with that time that counts.
You need to get still, empty your
mind of the business of the day,
and let the Lord fill you with positive,
encouraging, strengthening,
faith-building thoughts from His
recorded and living Word.
Jesus said the requirement
for a fruitful life is abiding in
Him. “Abide in Me, and I in you”
(John 15:4). “Abiding in Jesus”
means staying connected with
Him by taking time to read His
Word and pray and listen to Him.
It’s easy to let prayer become
a formality, but one thing that
can help you avoid that is to
think of the Lord as the Friend,
Counselor, and Lover that He
wants to be to you. As someone
once said, “The more one loves
Jesus, the more he delights to be
with Jesus alone. Lovers love to
be alone.”
But the Lord won’t force
Himself on you. He waits to see
how much you are willing to
abandon all other distractions in
order to put Him first. If you have
Him in first place, then you will
see and feel His power and help
in your life beyond what you
ever imagined! ■

pages 8 - 9
Temple Time

(Describing a vision:) I see a picture of a group of
people under a dome in a
big central room. They’re all
looking up, like they expect
something. There are other
people rushing around busily out in
the wings [in service to God], but
the people under the central dome
are just standing there quietly, looking
up. They’re bathed in a beautiful
golden glow from above, and they
take deep breaths of the heavenly
air that descends on them. It’s the
Lord’s temple.
(Prayer:) Oh Lord, for a breath
of Your heavenly air to refresh us
and clear our minds and inspire our
hearts and give us visions that thrill
us, that set our heads awhirl for You,
Jesus!
The people who are so busy
rushing around get tired and have
to come under the dome to get
refreshed and refilled.
(Prayer:) Help us to be like that,
Jesus. Help us to remember we can’t
go on without the heavenly vision
You give, without a breath of heavenly
fresh air, without the sound of
that sweet music. We just can’t go
on without hearing Your voice and
getting inspired by the upward look!
We wouldn’t worry and fret so
if we spent more time with the
Lord, looking up through that starry
dome, breathing that heavenly air,
and hearing that beautiful music.
We’d find peace and rest for our soul.
It would totally renew us and refresh
us and give us new vision and fresh
inspiration, new strength, rest and
peace and joy.
Have you been there?
Have you taken time to get quiet
before God as you slip into the
temple of the Spirit? Have you been
there to get a fresh breath of air from
Heaven? If you haven’t, you’ve really
missed something! You’ll get awfully
tired and weary and upset and fearful
and doubtful and discouraged
and worried and flurried and hurried.
You’ll get out of touch with the
Lord and run out of strength and
wisdom and love and patience—all
because you haven’t come into the
temple to be refreshed and renewed
by His Spirit.
Are you too busy? Are you in
too big a hurry? Is your work too
important to stop for a few minutes
of inspiration and refreshing from
on high, spiritual renewal, physical
rest—a little love feast with the Lord?
You’ll never make it if you don’t stop
for a while under the dome. If you
don’t get in there and catch a little of
His light, you’re not going to reflect
much of it to others.
Make a temple of your heart!
All you have to do is get alone
with the Lord and look up at all His
beauties and breathe His heavenly
air and hear His heavenly music and
see His heavenly visions.
It doesn’t have to be at any set
time. You can look up through the
dome any time of day, anywhere,
wherever you are, whatever you’re
doing. Just take a few quiet moments
with the Lord. Anytime, anywhere,
you can come swiftly out of the
wings and enter the temple in spirit
(John 4:24). Look and live! Look up!
Make a temple of your heart. See
what God can do in that beautiful
realm of the spirit.
You just can’t do that very well
in the midst of the other voices and
the clamor of business. Those other
things may be necessary, but you
have to keep coming back into the
rotunda in spirit to get your batteries
recharged. You can’t do it without
Him. You’ll never make it without
His power. You may run for a while,
but unless you come back and get
hooked up to the current again,
you’ll run slower and slower till you
have nothing left and are just plumb
flat!
It can be downright hard work
out in the wings, and you’ll never
have the strength or the vision or the
inspiration that you need to do that
work unless you keep coming back
in under the dome.
He can solve all your problems
in one little glimpse. He can refresh
your whole spirit with one deep
breath. He can clarify all your
thoughts with just one sweet strain
of heavenly music. He can wipe away
all your fears and tears with just
one little restful moment in that perfect
peace He gives when your mind
is stayed on Him and Him alone,
because you trust in Him (Isaiah
26:3).
It just takes one little glimpse of
Jesus to make it worth it all—and to
help you be able to do it all. Take
time in the temple today!_

Prayer for the Day
Thank You so much, dear Jesus, for helping me bring my cares to You
in prayer and to give them to You so You can carry the weight. When I do,
it shows You that I love You and need You and trust You, and then You’re
able to help me accomplish much more than if I tried to do it all in my
own strength. Thank You for taking my burdens and dealing with them
one by one before they become bigger problems. Thank You so much for
Your simple solutions, Jesus!

 

FEEDING READING
Getting to know Jesus better
God sent Jesus to show us a picture
of what He Himself is like.
John 14:7–9
Colossians 1:15
Hebrews 1:3
Jesus showed us God’s love by
dying for us.
John 10:11
John 15:13
Romans 5:8
Jesus came to proclaim the truth
and destroy the works of the Devil.
John 18:37
1 John 3:8
Hebrews 2:14–15
Jesus knows our human weaknesses
and sympathizes with us.
Hebrews 2:17–18
Hebrews 4:15
Hebrews 5:8
Jesus taught with power and
authority.
Luke 4:32
John 7:46
Jesus was humble.
Philippians 2:5–8
Matthew 11:29
Luke 22:27
John 13:3–15
Jesus has hope for everyone, even
sinners and outcasts of society.
Matthew 9:9–13
Luke 7:36–48
Luke 19:2–10
Luke 23:39–43
John 8:1–11

 

pages 10 - 11

The Roller Coaster
Author unknown, adapted by Keith Phillips

I think I was about 14 when I had my first roller coaster experience. I remember thinking, as my wagon chugged up to that first drop-off and my blood drained into my feet, ”Why in the world am I doing this?!?” Then began the heart-thumping succession of radical ups and downs with no stopping place, no exit. My only option was to hold on for dear life and finish the course.
The first few months after I received Jesus as my Savior were like that roller coaster ride. There were times when I was up, and times when I was down-really down! Sometimes I would think, as my little “wagon” headed upward, “This is great, and it just keeps getting better! Happiness is here to stay!”  Then I would hit a peak and stall momentarily before plunging to the depths of doubt and disillusionment. I hadn't yet learned that to “walk by faith, not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7) meant I was supposed to hitch my wagon to God's unchangeable promises, not my ever-changing feelings.
On my happy “up” days I concluded that I must have done something right. Perhaps I had been exceptionally humble or more in step with the Lord and His guiding Holy Spirit. Whatever it had been, it had propelled me across some invisible boundary and I was now headed for a higher spiritual plane, leaving normal earthlings far behind. I felt like I was on top of the world, and was proud of myself. I had climbed my Everest!
But invariably, just when I was feeling so proud about my supposed spiritual progress and revelations, I would catch sight of the real me with my very real problems. Much to my horror, I found that I hadn't attained after all. I had merely reached a momentary peak-one of a series of many on my months-long roller coaster ride of basing my spiritual life on feelings, with all its loop-the-loops and unexpected downturns.
Finally, at the end of the track, as I coasted to a dazed and dizzied stop, I was astounded to find that the Lord still loved me! He was like a daddy, taking me in His arms, reassuring me that everything would be all right, and carrying me until the nauseous feeling of failure had passed.
It took several such rides before I could see with crystal clarity how unconditional God's love really is. No matter how low I sank or how high I thought I was, His love was constant. Whenever I hit bottom and then reached out to Him in prayer, a feeling of peace, safety, and acceptance would enclose me. It's as though He would pick me up, dust me off, give me a kiss and a pat, put my feet firmly back on the solid ground of His Word, and point me in the right direction-always with a loving smile and some word of encouragement. The verse “God is love” (1 John 4:8) took on a whole new meaning.
Finally I learned that my floundering efforts to attain some self-prescribed state of spirituality only hindered God from directing my life. Once I saw this, I quit trying so hard to be a certain way and began trusting that He, in fact, was in control and would help me to be what He wanted me to be.
It took several years for me to comprehend what true spirituality really is, and that to be “up there” isn't the goal at all. To be loving and kind, that's the goal. True humility is seeing I can't make it without God's loving hand at work in my life, and true religion is passing His love on to others.
Now, whenever I see a roller coaster I stop and send up a prayer to thank the Lord for His love and patience, and for His Word that got me off the roller coaster track of feelings and self-made spirituality and keeps me on the right track-the straight and narrow way that leads to a heavenly life with Him now and forever!

 

page 12

answers to your questions

Q:My friends and I are in the habit of exchanging gossip about others. I sometimes feel
bad about it because, to be honest, a lot of it is unkind or sarcastic. But I just can’t
resist the desire to be in on “the latest.” Any advice?

 

King Solomon said, “The tongue has
the power of life and death” (Proverbs
18:21 NIV). Think of that! The words you
say are real things. They can bless or
curse, they can lift up or knock down,
they can save or damn!
The old saying, “Sticks and stones
can break my bones, but words can
never hurt me,” is not true at all! Take,
for example, the true story of Mary
Ellen and Jesse Pepper: Mary was so
hurt and discouraged by the malicious
gossip that another 18-year-old girl,
Jesse, had spread about her that Mary
committed suicide—and Jesse was convicted
of manslaughter. It was called a
“gossip slaying” because Mary took her
life as a result of the gossip.
That may seem like an extreme
example, but honestly now, is it that
extreme? Haven’t there ever been times
when you’ve felt so low and discouraged
because of someone’s cruel, unkind
words that you wished you were dead?
Or maybe you have wounded someone
else that way.
Let’s face it, we’ve all been guilty at
some time or another of hurting others
with our words. Maybe they were unintentional,
maybe they were intended in
fun, but they were unkind and hurtful
just the same.
Maybe at that very moment the
other person was longing for a word
of encouragement, but instead our cutting
words wounded deeply and left an
ugly scar. This poem makes the point
poignantly:
It often only takes a few words hastily
spoken to start things going wrong.
So how can we guard against that
thoughtless, unkind word that can leap
so quickly from our lips? What can we
do to tame our tongues?
Well, try as we may, we can’t! The
Bible says, “Every kind of beast and
bird, of reptile and creature of the sea,
is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.
But no man can tame the tongue”
(James 3:7-8). Only God can tame it!
“With men it is impossible, but with
God all things are possible” (Matthew
19:26). The only way to fully tame our
tongues is by asking God to change
our hearts, “for out of the abundance
of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew
12:34). If your heart is overflowing
with God’s love, then the words of your
mouth will be filled with love and compassion.
There’s only one way to change the
untamed tongue, and that is to change
the spirit that controls it. You can never
control it yourself. Jesus is the only true
source of love, kindness, goodness and
sweetness, and as you allow Jesus to
take control of your life, He also takes
control of your tongue. His Spirit in you
will inspire you and even speak through
you with His wonderful words of love,
light and life!

 

If I knew that a word of mine,
A word not kind and true,
Might leave its trace
On a loved one’s face,
I don’t think I’d speak it—
Would you?
If I knew that the sting of a word
Might linger and leave its mark,
With a deep dark scar
On a loved one’s heart,
I don’t think I’d speak it—
Would you?
—Author unknown

page 13

N A I L S

in the Gatepost
As a young boy, I had
a fiery temper that often
caused me to say and do
unkind things.
One day, after an argument
had sent one of my
playmates home in tears,
my father told me that for
each thoughtless, mean
thing I did, he would drive
a nail into the gatepost in
front of our house. Each
time I did a kindness or a
good deed, he would pull
one nail out.
Months passed. Each
time I entered our gate,
I was reminded of the
reasons for those ever-increasing
nails. Finally,
getting them out became
a challenge.
At last the wished-for
day arrived—only one
more nail! As my father
withdrew it, I danced
around proudly exclaiming,
“See, Daddy, the nails
are all gone!”
My father gazed
intently at the post as he
thoughtfully replied, “Yes,
the nails are gone—but
the scars remain.”
—Author unknown

pages 14 -15
Interpreting Bible Prophecy: Part 2
David Brandt Berg
"Rightly Dividing the Word of Truth" (2 Timothy 2:15).
God loves a mystery!
The prophets looked into the future and saw coming events like series of mountain ranges, one after the other. Only the mountaintops were clearly visible. The valleys in between were mostly hidden, and the prophets couldn't always distinguish between events, just like two or three mountain ranges lined up one after the other can look like one from a distance. At the time, the order and timing of future events usually weren't clear to the prophets, but they became clear to others as they came to pass--or they will yet.
God has many mysteries that He keeps from us until the appointed time. Many of the prophets who received the revelations now recorded in the Bible never even attempted to explain them, often because they didn't understand the prophecies or revelations themselves. For example, the prophet Daniel was so baffled one time about what the Lord had prophesied through him that he said thinking about it troubled him greatly (Daniel 7:28). He was really puzzled!
God says, "My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts" (Isaiah 55:8-9). How could we possibly comprehend with our finite minds all the mysteries of God about the future?
But, little by little, He does shed a little more light on Endtime events. The sun doesn't just pop up in the morning and--boom!--it's broad daylight. First there's a long period of dawn as it gets a little lighter and a little lighter, until finally the sun itself begins to show. Then it still takes a while longer before the entire sun is visible. That's the way God reveals interpretations of Bible prophecies to us: little by little.
Is it wise to theorize?
It doesn't pay to try to be too specific or to try to nail down all the whos, whens, wheres, and hows of things to come, but you should at least be familiar with the basic events of the Endtime. You should also put some thought and prayer into trying to figure out how and when they might come to pass, so you'll recognize them when they do.
Studying Bible prophecy is a bit like doing scientific experiments in a laboratory: You begin by asking questions. (If you don't have the questions in mind, how are you going to find the answers?) Then you try various possibilities in order to come to the right conclusions--or probable right conclusions--by the process of elimination. You can form theories regarding what various Bible prophecies mean by the processes of deduction and elimination. You may not get all the answers right, but you'll almost certainly be better off than if you never ask any questions or try to figure anything out.
How specific should you try to be?
I'm very leery about getting too specific, because too many preachers and Bible teachers have been called false prophets when their revelations or interpretations regarding specific events didn't prove true.
The only details that you can be absolutely sure of are the things that God has expressly said in the Word, such as the Great Tribulation lasting roughly three and a half years--or 42 months or 1260 days (Daniel 7:25, 9:27, 12:7; Revelation 11:2-3; 12:6; 13:5).
At this moment we don't know the exact time or place that most Endtime events will happen. We know generally, and when they begin to happen we'll know more specifically.
Some Bible prophecy buffs try to figure out the minute details--the days and hours and minutes--when it's too early for that. If you get bogged down with too many details of Bible prophecy, you're likely to make mistakes and waste a lot of time. You'll know soon enough, when the time comes. Time will tell! Be patient, but be on the lookout for indications, hints, and signs.
How to know your interpretation is right
There's one thing about prophecy: When it happens, you'll know what it meant! Jesus said, "I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe" (John 14:29).
The Lord put each of those prophecies in the Bible for our edification. Some give us understanding of His plan for the future, so we can prepare accordingly. "Others--those that we don't completely understand now--are to encourage our faith and instruct us later, when we see and recognize their fulfillments. When they come to pass, we'll be encouraged that everything is under the Lord's control and is happening just the way He said it would, and we'll know where we are on the Endtime timeline.
When I used to travel a lot by train, I tried to carry a train schedule so I could tell where I was at any time en route. The train wasn't always on time, of course, but whenever it came to a station I could tell if we were running late. The signs on the station platforms confirmed where we were, and I could adjust the schedule accordingly.
So if you become familiar with the main "stops" on the Lord's Endtime timeline, when you get to each one you'll know where you are and how much further you have to go. You'll see the "signs of the times" (Matthew 16:3), remember the Scriptures, and be encouraged.

 

Coming Next…

After reading the “Activated” magazines, besides getting and learning a lot of Heavenly information & uplifting thoughts, you may have experienced changes in your life & are thanking the Lord for this exciting progress.

Others of you may wonder, “I have so many shortcomings & weaknesses. Am I ever going to make progress? How can I improve” You’re hoping to have the real joy, happiness, satisfaction & inspiration that lifts you way up High through knowing Jesus more intimately. True, letting the Word activate your life & building new habits can be difficult & challenging, but not impossible. Please read the next Activated to find out more to help you to become a “new creature in Christ Jesus”!

 

page 16

FROM JESUS WITH LOVE
POSITIVE PERKS

 

When life gets to be too much, when everything
around you seems to be falling apart, when you feel
that nothing you do helps, what should you do?—
Think about Me. Think about how much I love you.
Think about My power. Think about all your blessings, and thank Me.
You can praise your way right out of a bad mood! If
you thank Me for all the good things in your life, the
negative feelings will dissipate.
You may sometimes find yourself in situations
where there doesn’t seem to be anything at all good
to thank Me for. Well, then thank Me for the good that
will eventually come out of the bad, because if you
love Me, sooner or later it will. That’s explained in the
Bible, in Romans 8:28: “All things work together for
good to those who love God.” For My children who love
Me, I can bring good out of anything.
Let Me change your difficult day into a happy one.
You can always find something to thank Me for. Praise
Me for one thing, and you’ll usually be reminded of
another, and another. Happiness will find you as you
focus on Me and on the positive.