Eye of the Needle

Dear friends and readers,


Peace and grace to you in Jesus name!


After reading this article please also check out an another that I just posted at www.lastdaysreview.blogspot.com


I do not write all the articles myself because I also want to present material from viewpoints of others in my ministry including our ladies. I have discovered that many of you have enjoyed reading  a few things written by one of our younger staff members Charity Beckwith. She writes under the title " 20's something".

I am discovering more and more that it is not just us old war horse Christians who have been in fellowship for years and years who are worried about todays world. So please hear the heart of our youth:

WELCOME CHARITY as she writes about "The eye of the needle"!

There has been this constant adrenaline rush harboring itself inside of me for the past couple of weeks. It's the kind of rush you get when your inching your way to the highest drop on a roller coaster. Your stomach sinks and it feels like you have an elastic rubber band wrapped around your insides waiting to break once you take the first plunge.

Realizing that the time for Christ's second coming is nearer than I thought has been the culprit for all of this adrenaline rushing through my veins. Honestly, I can vouch that I am not necessarily ready for this feeling, but I am also not against it . Preparation and acknowledgment of the times we are in is crucial, and if this is how God brings this worldly unrest to my attention, so let it be.

 Lately, I have been waiting in expectation for the demise of countries, including the United States of America, that will eventually fall completely below the world record charts in status, finances, and government,  plummeting without any hope or inkling of rebuilding. This may seem pessimistic and not at all supporting the doctrines of "change is good "or "Everything will eventually be fine if we just do this", but it is the complete and utter truth, and I refuse to deny it.

Taking scripture into full consideration as the truth, has brought me to a whole new level of "Knowing the truth, yet failing to obey." Individuals, ordinary people, government officials, state representatives, presidents, and country leaders are seeing the negative outcome of their efforts but refuse to turn to an infallible truth and a life of obedience.

 We insist on having things our own way and look where that has ended.  look at what we live in, look what the world is saturated in. Sin and the desires of our flesh. The disappointing aspect is that most individuals just flatly refuse to submit themselves completely to a God that definitely knows what He is doing. He has everything covered, and everything will prosper under Him. And the best thing is to actually know that He want's the best for us, all of us.

Jeremiah 29:11 states exactly my point, well actually, God's point-

"For I know the thoughts that I think towards you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek ME and find Me, when you search for me with all your heart."

It's quite comforting to know that God's full interest is in us , but the comfort leaves quite quickly when we fail to comply with the WORD of God even though He is still for us. There are promises of God that He constantly desires to give us, but the obeying is the hard part! Right? If one were to refer back to the Bible, faith and obedience were (and are still) key to becoming an individual after God's own heart.

Look back to the story of Joseph in the Book of Genesis, It's a great example of obedience. 

Joseph  one of 12 brothers, the favored of his father, was cast into slavery by his brothers, his own flesh and blood. They hated Joseph from the beginning because he was his father's favorite. They especially hated him when he told them a dream and prophesied that they would be under his rule one day. After he was cast into slavery, he  earned the respect of Potiphar, an officer to the Pharaoh of Egypt and eventually Joseph was put into position as an overseer to Potiphar’s house. Soon after, Potiphar's wife had her eyes on him.  She pursued Joseph out of an impure heart, and this guiltless young man was thrown into prison on false charges. 

During Joseph’s lengthy imprisonment, he interpreted dreams for two other prisoners, a baker and a butler. One prisoner (the baker) was to die and the other (the butler) was to serve Pharaoh once again. When the butler was released, Joseph asked him  to tell Pharaoh about him, hoping that he too would be released from unjust punishment. The butler forgot, and Joseph ended up remaining in prison, without a complaint. 

Then it came to pass that Pharaoh was having troubling dreams and it was remembered by the butler that Joseph was an interpreter of dreams.  Pharaoh called for Joseph who interpreted the dreams which were very complex. There would be seven years of great plentiful harvest, then after there will be seven years of famine. Pharaoh, recognizing truth found that he needed a leader to administer his countries affairs during the years of prophesied events. Pharaoh decided that Joseph was the man for this great challenge and so he was placed as second in command over all of egypt to save everyone from starvation. 

Thus Joseph’s earlier prophecy came true in that he became ruler over his brothers. 

This story is a great reminder to myself and others that no matter what situation you are in, rich or poor, happy or sad, strong or weak, as long as you follow the LORD in faith and obedience, you will prosper all the days of your life. We also have to remember that prospering does not necessarily mean that we inherit worldly riches such as money, cars, status, etc. It is not our possessions down here on earth that earn us an eternal place with our heavenly Father. In actuality the worldly treasures that we tend to store up down here on earth can for many, make it harder to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Before we can fully dedicate ourselves to following our Father, we must be willing to rethink our belongings and count them as nothing compared to God. God should always come first. Our money counted as nothing. Our Job counted as nothing. Our home counted as nothing. Our status counted as nothing. God does not ask us to walk away from all these things and in particular our health. But he does tell us that they cannot occupy the center of our attention---a place rightfully reserved only for Himself.

Matthew 19:24 - “And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

This scripture refers to an actual camel fitting through “ the eye of the needle. ”The “Eye” was a small door built on the side of a huge edifice and was used at night or in times of turmoil. It was small enough that a man had to bend down to get though this opening, also making it impossible for a camel to fit through. So the saying goes  and can be explained that it is easier for the camel to fit through an impossible opening than for a man of wealth to come to heaven distracted by all his worldly riches. It should be noted that not ALL men are distracted by riches but frankly most are and as such they become our downfall.

Also, living a life of disobedience to God's word only wreaks havoc upon ourselves and ultimately destroys the goodness and prosperity that is meant for our benefit.

Job 36:11-12

“If they obey and serve Him, they shall spend their days in prosperity, and their years in pleasures, But if they do not obey, they shall perish by the sword, and they shall die without knowledge."

Some may ask, “ What exactly is disobeying God?” Well, it’s simple. Anything that goes against what the Bible says, is disobedience to God. It’s our choice whether we want to obey Him or not. It is called free will, but the exercise of our free will is what often lays the foundation for our demise if we choose to disobey the word, which is God. 

Whether we understand fully where God is taking us during our time here on earth is unimportant. We all have to remember that God is a God of love and He wants to see all his children flourish in His kingdom. God did not write the Bible to shove it in our faces and say " HA HA! You have to follow these rules, and I did it to make your lives boring!"


Imagine how it makes God feel that He has to punish his children sometimes just like a normal  loving parent for not obeying. Or imagine how much hurt is in His heart that He has to keep on letting you and I make the same mistakes again and again and again and then hit rock bottom before we realize the truth that God is actually trying to teach us. He gave the Bible to us for a reason.  He gave us the truth. The perfect truth to follow so we may one day come to the greatness that He created for us to experience. He gave us His exact words so that we may prosper with Him though our Faith and obedience.

Now is the time to walk in that Faith and obedience. Times and prophecies are coming together faster and faster before our very eyes. Whether you choose to believe it or not, well, that's a decision that you will soon have to make for yourself. Many evils are thriving in the times that we live in and as depressing as it may sound, many individuals are thriving from these evils.


I would like to state categorically, that the current problems of our dissolving world will NOT get better  any time soon. So I encourage readers to step up in their faith and follow in obedience for it is those who obey the LORD that will spend their days in the truth and the prosperity of the LORD.


Back to pastor Rance.:


Hebrews 13:8-9 "Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and forever, Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines-----------!"


See you next week and may the Lord prosper each of you in His Holy Spirit!