Christianity in these Last Days

Christianity in these Last Days

By

Jerrye Woods

Copyright 2015 Jerrye Woods

Published by Global Publishing Group on Smashwords

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Disclaimer

This is a work of non-fiction. All rights reserved. In accordance with the U.S.Copyright Act of 1976, the scanning, uploading, and electronic sharing of any part of this book without the permission of the publisher is unlawful piracy and theft of the author’s intellectual property. If you would like to use material from the book (other than for review purposes), prior written permission must be obtained by contacting GlobalPublishingGroupLLC@gmail.com

Unless otherwise indicated, all scripture is taken from the New American Standard Bible.

Acknowledgments

I want to thank Global Publishing Group for all the help and patience extended during this process; also a very special thank you to those who allowed their stories to be included. These are not the usual, dramatic variety involving life and death situations, but are rather true stories of everyday life situations punctuated by God’s loving intervention.

Most of all I want to thank my family, especially my husband, for all the love, encouragement and never ending support.

Thank you all!

Dedication

This book is lovingly dedicated to my five grandchildren:

Michael, Jojo, Olivia, Maya and Cale

You keep me young at heart.

I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in truth.

(III John l:4)

Foreword

Writing this book has been a joy. It is my gift to Christians living in these last days and to every individual

who has been disappointed by organized religion yet has honest, heartfelt questions regarding God and his own spirituality.

It’s been said that Satan’s greatest achievement is convincing individuals that he doesn’t exist. If that is true, then his second has to be convincing them that Christianity is just one of the many religions of world. It’s a lie! Over and over again in the Bible God says Christianity is a covenant, never a religion.

Discovering this covenant is like finding a priceless forgotten treasure …

Becoming a part of it will rock your world.

Jerrye Woods

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 What is a covenant?

Chapter 2 A covenant in action

Chapter 3 Jonathan and David exchange

weapons

Chapter 4 Jonathan and David exchange

armor

Chapter 5 The Beginning of God’s Covenant

Chapter 6 A covenant partner

Chapter 7 The covenant preserved

Chapter 8 The cutting of covenant

Chapter 9 Trusting in God’s covenant

Chapter 10 Abiding in God’s covenant

Chapter 11 Living in the covenant

Chapter 12 Walking in God’s covenant

Chapter 13 Entering God’s covenant

Chapter 14 The Tabernacle

Chapter 15 Wilderness Journey

Chapter 16 The Promised land

Chapter 17 Honoring the covenant

Chapter 18 Covenant is relationship

Chapter 19 Covenant personified

Chapter 20 Covenant ministry

Chapter 21 Entering Covenant

CHAPTER 1

WHAT IS A COVENANT?

The secret of the LORD is for those who fear Him.

He will make them know His Covenant. (Psalms 25:14)

God I can’t do this, I cried, slamming the book closed in utter frustration. After three months of preparing to teach a class on God’s Covenant, I was ready to quit. The subject was too broad, too inclusive. It touched absolutely every area of life. Andrew Murray once wrote, To many a man, who has never thought much of the Covenant, a true and living faith in it would mean the transformation of his whole life.(1) This is exactly what I felt. Instinctively, I knew that to pursue an understanding of Covenant would be taking a step onto holy ground and have my life forever changed. Was I willing to take that step? It was a moment of decision.

I was especially thankful for having taken that step when several weeks later I found myself dressed in a hospital gown, waiting as the doctor prepared another battery of tests. Silently, I prayed, God, I need your strength. I’m scared. Had this happened prior to my reaching an understanding of my Covenant position, I would have bombarded heaven with a barrage of questions. Why is this happening? Am I going to be all right? How many more tests will there be? But now, it was enough to know that I was not alone; my Covenant Partner was with me, He was in control and would provide all I needed to walk through this experience.

Today, having taught the subject of Covenant numerous times, I know that we have only begun to scratch the surface of understanding all that God has provided. I have seen individuals become born again as the realization of God’s Covenant dawned upon their hearts. I have witnessed Christians shed the shackles of religion to walk in a new-found freedom through a clearer understanding of this God-given relationship. So let’s begin this journey of discovery.

Webster defines the word covenant as a contract or compact, a document legally binding two parties to agree-upon obligations and it remains binding until legally dissolved. However the Biblical definition is quite different. According to God’s definition, a covenant is an intimate, personal bond requiring the coming together of two parties, the shedding of blood and the exchanging of vows. It is stronger than family ties, greater than personal ambition and can never be dissolved. In fact God uses the words everlasting and unchanging to emphasize the permanence of His Covenant, yet these words are difficult to comprehend because in these last days there is no frame of reference for everlasting or unchanging.

Nothing is permanent. Life is in a continual state of flux. Things growing up, growing old, wearing out and being replaced are a normal part of everyday life, but God says, I, the LORD, do not change. (Malachi 3:6) And, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday and today, yes, and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) How can one hope to understand this permanence of God? The answer is found in His Covenant promises.

One of the promises God made to His Covenant partners is found in Hebrews chapter thirteen. I will never desert you nor will I ever forsake you. (Hebrews 13:5) "Never" is hard to wrap one’s mind around. Today jobs and responsibilities dictate that spouses and family members spend hours and even days apart; yet, God promises to never leave or forsake those who belong to Him, not even for an instant. How can that be possible? Was He speaking literally, or was He simply being redundant for the sake of emphasis? A look at the original Greek sheds light on the subject:

The Greek word translated never means, not at all, in no case, not in any way. (3364 Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible)

The Greek word translated desert means, "to slacken, to let up, to loosen, to give up, to abandon (447 Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible)

The Greek word translated forsake means, to desert, to leave in a lurch, to abandon (1459 Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible)

God was not being redundant but carefully chose His words to convey the depth of His love and commitment. He is saying My love for you will never diminish. I will never give up on you, leave you in a lurch, nor abandon you for any reason. In the midst of every situation, I am with you, loving you, protecting you, guiding you, undergirding you with My strength and in the end, I will take you home to be with Me. Spouses may leave and friends may disappoint but God is ever present with those who choose to walk with Him.

I think that I initially struggled with teaching the subject of Covenant for two reasons. First, I needed an attitude adjustment. I thought to myself, I know this. There is an old covenant based on law and a new covenant based on grace. This will be easy. I had to hit rock bottom and admit that I knew little, if anything, about this God-given Covenant relationship.

Secondly, I was unaware of an enemy who would fight to keep me ignorant. Anyone serious about pursuing God should expect opposition from this enemy. He will do whatever it takes to thwart spiritual progress. Distractions, responsibilities, illness, relationships, habits and ridicule are but a few. However, the most dangerous and deceptive obstacle is the spirit of religion. The late Oswald Chambers warned his Bible College students about this spirit of religion when he said, It is possible to know all about doctrine and yet not know Jesus. The soul is in danger when knowledge of doctrine out steps intimate touch with Jesus. (2) A little knowledge mixed with the spirit of religion fosters a holier-than-thou attitude, a closed mind, an air of intolerance and strict adherence to man-made laws. The spirit of religion, in the form of self-righteous Scribes and Pharisees nailed Jesus to the cross, and it is alive and well today.

Prior to His death, Jesus prayed for his followers, saying, Father, keep them in Thy name, the name which Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, even as We are one. (John 17:11) Sadly Christians are not one today. They have swallowed Satan’s lie claiming Christianity to be just one of the world’s religions, and that lie coupled with the spirit of religion has fostered division.

In one of my Bible Study classes, a discussion of the Lord’s Supper revealed obvious denominational differences. The Catholic Christians believed that the wine and bread actually became the blood and flesh of Jesus, while the Protestants believed it to be symbolic. By turning to the words of Jesus, we silenced that divisive, religious spirit.

Jesus said, This is My body which is given for you; do this in remembrance of Me. (Luke 22:19)

…this is My blood of the covenant, which is to be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins. (Matthew 26:28)

…do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of Me.

(I Corinthians 11:25)

Consequently, it became clear that when the focus is on Jesus, it makes no difference whether the wine and bread are symbolic or become His actual flesh and blood. The point is to remember Him.

In addition to initiating division, a religious spirit also confuses religion and relationship. Most church members are familiar with the Bible and believe at least in the validity of the recorded main events. Combining that knowledge with a smattering of good works, they consider themselves religious and therefore call themselves Christian, but it is a dangerous assumption. According to God’s word, Christianity is a serious, intimate, eternal, divine heart connection. Head knowledge makes one a spectator at best.

For example, if you attended a wedding ceremony, listened as the couple pledged their vows, watched as they exchanged rings and then left the church thinking that you had just gotten married, your family would have you committed to a padded cell. Yet, when it comes to Christianity that is too often exactly what happens. Individuals listen to preachers, teachers, priests, parents and friends talk about Jesus and believing what they are told, dutifully attend classes, memorize verses, recite creeds, join the church and then think that they have become a Christian. Not so! The classes, memorization, and church membership are all good things, but they are external things. Without the heart’s involvement, they are benevolent, superficial, religious trappings at best. However, most remain ignorant of this error until they hit rock bottom and are forced to taste those wretched, sour grapes called letting go-- the loss of a loved one, a relationship, a job, a career, a home, a marriage, financial security, health, and ultimately life itself. In the midst of these uncontrollable events they sadly discover that allegiance to religion (any religion) has left them empty and disillusioned. In angry frustration they scream, God where are you? If this is all there is, forget it and they exit the church never to be seen again. How sad because there is so much more.

Through the prophet Jeremiah God spoke of this Covenant saying, Behold the days are coming when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers in the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them, declares the LORD; But this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days.

Declares the LORD, I will put My law within them, and on their heart I will write it; and I will be their God and they shall be My people. And they shall not teach again, each man his neighbor and each man his brother, saying ‘Know the LORD’ for they shall all know Me from the least of them to the greatest of them. Declares the LORD, For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more. (Jeremiah 31:31-34)

Referring to Jesus in his letter to the Hebrews, the apostle Paul wrote, He is the mediator of a New Covenant. (Hebrews 9:15 & 12:24). Jesus spoke against religious, rote behavior in Matthew 15: 8 & 9 when He said, This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from Me. But in vain do they worship Me, teaching as their doctrines the precepts of men.

These words of the late Oswald Chambers reveal his firm grasp of this truth, Many a soul begins to come to God when he flings off being religious, because there is only one Master of the human heart, and this is not religion but Jesus Christ.(3)

(1) This material is taken from The Two Covenants by Andrew Murray, and is used by permission of Christian Literature Crusade,

70l Pennsylvania Avenue, P.O. Box 1449, Fort Washington, PA 19034. Page 2

(2) This material is taken from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. @1935 by Dodd Mead & Co., Renewed

© 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Assn., Ltd., and is used by permission of Discovery House Publishers,

Box 3566, Grand Rapids, MI 49501. All Rights reserved. Page 229

(3) This material is taken from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers. @1935 by Dodd Mead & Co., Renewed

© 1963 by Oswald Chambers Publications Assn., Ltd., and is used by permission of Discovery House Publisher,

Box 3566, Grand