Virgins Everywhere! (a call for 2011)

I think we're entering that point in history Jesus alluded to in his parable of the 10 virgins. If you're familiar with that story, you know that half of them were ready for the Bridegroom and the other half were not. What determined if they were ready, for the most part, was whether or not they had oil in their lamps. We also know that the virgins represent born-again Christians because back in the day, a woman was a virgin until she met her husband (I know that sounds so un-21st century, but it was the culture of the day). We also know the Bridegroom to be Jesus the Christ.

Some ironic things I noticed about these virgins is that they all were "sleeping" before the arrival of the Bridegroom. Do with that as you will. I also noticed that the wise virgins would not, or rather could not, share their oil with the foolish virgins because they may run out. But doesn't God tell us to share?

Sharing is good when you share with someone in need who doesn't have what you have and can't get it. However, oil is readily available to ALL. For the foolish virgins to say to the wise ones "share your oil" would be like one person saying to another, "Hey, you need to share the air you're breathing".

So what is that oil that is readily available to all virgins? Throughout the Bible, we know oil is representative for the Holy Spirit. This really isn't a heavy-revie but is more of a Christianity 101 teaching. We definitely need "oil" for our "lamps" so that we can go out into the "dark" (which these days are definitely dark) to meet our "Bridegroom".

So here is the call that I think God wants all Christians to take heed to for 2011

• Get alone with God; REFUEL. It's not difficult. Just a few minutes a day reading the bible with God and talking to Him can fill up your "tank" and it won't cost you half your paycheck either. Try to listen to what He's telling you and if you can't hear Him that well, let the Bible do the talking. I asked Him the other day to not let the clouds block my view of the lunar eclipse we just had. He allowed the sky to remain clear until the next day and I thanked Him for it. That was a very cool lunar eclipse, by the way. So just thanking Him for little stuff goes a long way. But however you do it, just do it... get alone with God.
  

• Be sheep without extra clothing. We are currently living in dangerous times. In churches all over our nation, I see wolves in sheep clothing, sheep in wolves clothing, sheep in sheep clothing, and sheep that refuse to where any other clothing. Jesus wants His sheep to wear only the clothing they were born with. No, I'm not talking about joining a nudist colony. I mean be real with God and with people and don't be religious/legalistic, don't be phony, and definitely don't be deceived. This leads me to point 2.

• We must sharpen our real swords and throw away our fake swords. The bible refers to "the sword of the Spirit" as the Word of God. Never have I seen such a large invasion of wolves in the church as today. False doctrine has infiltrated the body of
  Christ. THEREFORE, open your bibles and get as much of it as you can deep within you. Have bible debates with yourself and with others just for the sake of sharpening your "swords". But remember this: "Let God be true, but every man be a liar" (Rom 3:4). This means that if it ain't in the bible, chuck it. Also remember this: "All spiritual experiences must agree with the written Word of God." If someone says to you a feather from an angel landed on her pillow and caused her to turn blue in color and then the angel said "I want a hot dog" and then oil suddenly poured out of their pillow, they better be able to back it up with Bible, otherwise chuck it.

Not to be an alarmist but I think the Body of Christ is about to go into a wilderness experience. The wilderness can be a great thing if you're in it with God. But whether I'm correct on this or if it was the pizza last night, I beg you to do those things I listed above, and the bible agrees.