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Tag: series

  • Times of Difficulty – 3

    Times of Difficulty – 3

    Watch Yourselves

    Luke 21:

    34 “But watch yourselves lest your hearts be weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and cares of this life, and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap. 35 For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth. 36 But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength to escape all these things that are going to take place, and to stand before the Son of Man.”

    Watch yourselves! A warning of apocalypse.

    “Be on guard,” states the King James, with the same Greek word where Jesus warns to ‘beware of false prophets.’ And in case you missed it, Jesus reiterates the warning. “Stay awake;” “keep on alert,” the King James Version warns. Matthew records Jesus using these warnings together as one.

    [ctt title=”‘Be on guard, keep awake. For you do not know when the time will come.’ – Mark 13:33″ tweet=”Do the cares of this life obscure the Light of eternal life? Watch yourselves!” coverup=”Kj6Z5″]

    Who does Jesus warn?

    21st century readers could easily dismiss this. Jesus is just preaching to the people of His day. The Temple will be destroyed and Israel will be destroyed. And that’s the end of it.

    Not quite. Although these events of which Jesus warned did take place, as is so often the case, prophecy also applies to other times. Just because you and I live in a different place and a later time does not exclude us from the truth.

    Jesus warns of impending disaster: ” and that day come upon you suddenly like a trap.” How often over time does this apply to so many.

    [ctt title=”For it will come upon all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.- Luke 21:35″ tweet=”Disaster prophesied by Jesus: not just for a forgotten time centuries past.” coverup=”1nRD9″]

    Not just Jerusalem. A disaster of the scope of Sodom and Gomorrah comes more to mind. (Lot was on watch. Only Lot sought to obey the Lord by fleeing sin.)

    Jesus does not speak of only ancient Judea, Samaria and Galilee which Rome would destroy later. The Lord warns, “all who dwell on the face of the whole earth.”

    Do those who ignored the warnings of Noah also come to your mind?

    Judgment!

    We don’t like it, the thought of being judged by another. Yet a sovereign God surely rules in righteousness and will judge the living and the dead! We prefer to see Jesus as our humble example of living to love God. Jesus invites us to think of God as Father. Jesus challenges us to love others.

    Yet He often warned of a judgment to come, a judgment with eternal consequence. Here is just one more example of the Almighty authority of Christ Jesus (which could be easily dismissed).

    The Son of Man

    Allow me to isolate what Jesus warns.

    “… But stay awake at all times, praying that you may have strength… to stand before the Son of Man.”

    Judgment! Jesus clearly warns the He will be our judge. And you will not stand in your own strength, but in His.

    Jesus IS the Son of Man! Jesus also clearly states for all with ears to hear:

    “I and the Father are one.” –John 10:30

    Revelation 14:14-16

    Then I looked, and behold, a white cloud, and seated on the cloud one like a son of man, with a golden crown on his head, and a sharp sickle in his hand.

    And another angel came out of the temple, calling with a loud voice to him who sat on the cloud,

    “Put in your sickle, and reap, for the hour to reap has come, for the harvest of the earth is fully ripe.”

    So he who sat on the cloud swung his sickle across the earth, and the earth was reaped.

    To be continued…

     

     

  • Times of Difficulty – 2

    Times of Difficulty – 2

    Signs of the Times

    [Introduction to this this series – part 1, in case you missed it.]

    Matthew 16:

    And the Pharisees and Sadducees came, and to test him they asked him to show them a sign from heaven.

    Pharisees, teachers, men of authority, including Sadducees who wielded great power over corporate worship want to debate with Jesus. Knowing the great signs Jesus has done for others they ask to see a miracle. (Perform for us, if you are the Son of God.) Show us a sign.

    He answered them, “When it is evening, you say, ‘It will be fair weather, for the sky is red.’  And in the morning, ‘It will be stormy today, for the sky is red and threatening.’

    You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but you cannot interpret the signs of the times.

    An evil and adulterous generation seeks for a sign, but no sign will be given to it except the sign of Jonah.” So he left them and departed.

    Are we so different? Are we not learned men and enlightened women? What sign of the risen Christ do we show those who live ungodly lives?

    Prophesy of Jesus

    Later Jesus would warn those of the present day of the Apostles, Pharisees, Sadducees and Roman occupiers even more things of these last days.

    Luke 21:

    5 And while some were speaking of the temple, how it was adorned with noble stones and offerings, he said, 6 “As for these things that you see, the days will come when there will not be left here one stone upon another that will not be thrown down.”

    7 And they asked him, “Teacher, when will these things be, and what will be the sign when these things are about to take place?”

    Jerusalem

    8 And he said, “See that you are not led astray.

    For many will come in my name, saying, ‘I am he!’ and, ‘The time is at hand!’

    Do not go after them.

    9 And when you hear of wars and tumults, do not be terrified, for these things must first take place, but the end will not be at once.”

    Did Rome destroy Jerusalem and the Temple? Have many gone after false prophets who have led astray?

    Jesus Foretells Wars and Persecution

    10 Then he said to them, “Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.

    11 There will be great earthquakes, and in various places famines and pestilences.

    And there will be terrors and great signs from heaven.

     

    12 But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name’s sake. 13 This will be your opportunity to bear witness.

    How soon we forget our unity in terror and faith under God.

    24 They will fall by the edge of the sword and be led captive among all nations, and Jerusalem will be trampled underfoot by the Gentiles, until the times of the Gentiles are fulfilled.

    The Coming of the Son of Man

    25 “And there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, 26 people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken.

    27 And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. 28 Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.”

    To be continued…

     

  • Times of Difficulty

    Times of Difficulty

    Joel 1:

    Has such a thing happened in your days,
    or in the days of your fathers?

    3 Tell your children of it,
    and let your children tell their children,
    and their children to another generation.

    While disasters loom and chaos rules, talking heads debate over who said what about the rein of evil isolated in time or place.

    I’m outraged!

    (But it's not what you think.)

    One death causes lingering debate, then a couple dozen again across the sea.

    http://www.cnn.com/2015/08/31/asia/india-child-deaths/index.html
    India – 2 million child deaths/year

    Yet  what of a crisis in a hospital in India where 68 children died   because of a financial dispute over who would pay for oxygen?

    What of 250 dead, lost to floods in Nepal, India and Bangladesh?

    Would a press so entertained over a single firing dare mention 28  deaths from a national election controversy in a poor country like Kenya?

    These acts of violence by evil men of many races and differing religion are not news. Extreme political positions and taunting of opposing opinion are nothing new under the sun.

    Hidden in the headlines of Shiite Islam vs. Sunni Islam in Iraq (along with Syria, another war no one has won) we see starving children, victims of war’s atrocities, malnourished and wounded, gleaning fields for a few bites to eat. Least of all world-wide entertaining news would never herald the passing of 100 souls from hunger each and every hour!

    https://www.lifesitenews.com/news/china-commits-staggering-23-million-abortions-per-year-according-to-us-stat
    China commits ‘staggering’ 23 million abortions per year, according to US State Dept.

    Could self-defining generations of sexually active ‘single’ women ever be chastised for their ‘right’ to end the lives of more than 25 million babies so far this year?!

    [ctt title=”Could the two most populous countries in the world ever be held accountable for all the babies and young children who have died? ” tweet=”https://ctt.ec/j1nfg+” coverup=”j1nfg”]

    When will the LORD finally say, enough is enough?

    Genesis 6:

    5 The Lord saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every intention of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. 6 And the Lord regretted that he had made man on the earth, and it grieved him to his heart. 7 So the Lord said, “I will blot out man whom I have created from the face of the land, man and animals and creeping things and birds of the heavens, for I am sorry that I have made them.”

    Exodus 12:29

    At midnight the LORD struck down all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of the livestock.

    The Lord intervenes

    You may not have read from scripture of the great power of the Lord, though you witness the magnificence of His Almighty hand every day. Recall (or read for the first time) how a prayer reached the hearing of the Lord and the Lord saved Israel.

    2 Kings 19:

    5 When the servants of King Hezekiah came to Isaiah, 6 Isaiah said to them, “Say to your master, ‘Thus says the Lord: Do not be afraid because of the words that you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have reviled me…

    15 And Hezekiah prayed before the Lord and said:

    [ctt title=”“O Lord, the God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, you are the God, you alone, of all the kingdoms of the earth; you have made heaven and earth.” tweet=”“Whom have you mocked and reviled? Against whom have you raised your voice and lifted your eyes to the heights? Against the Holy One of Israel! 2Kings19:” coverup=”iFGf9″]

    16 Incline your ear, O Lord, and hear; open your eyes, O Lord, and see; and hear the words of Sennacherib, which he has sent to mock the living God. 17 Truly, O Lord, the kings of Assyria have laid waste the nations and their lands 18 and have cast their gods into the fire, for they were not gods, but the work of men’s hands, wood and stone. Therefore they were destroyed. 19 So now, O Lord our God, save us, please, from his hand, that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you, O Lord, are God alone.”

    35 And that night the angel of the Lord went out and struck down 185,000 in the camp of the Assyrians.

    And when people arose early in the morning, behold, these were all dead bodies. 36 Then Sennacherib king of Assyria departed and went home and lived at Nineveh.

    Judgment of the Lord

    Not so remarkable that the Lord of all the heavens and earth, the Lord who makes the sun and moon and stars to move; not so awesome that 185,000 men or all the first born of Egypt should unexpectedly be struck down.

    Have you heard of the Lord’s covenant to never destroy all mankind by flood? Do you believe that? You who cannot gaze upon the brilliance of the sun the Lord has placed in the heavens, uncover your ears to hear his warnings to repent!

    His patience withholds fire and brimstone from the destruction of evil, yet their judgment will come. In the Person of Christ Jesus the Lord has come to man and He will return.

    Cover your eyes and open your heart. Look only to Jesus and no false man, dead or in power, mortals who cannot save your eternal soul.

    Joel 1:

    15 Alas for the day!
    For the day of the Lord is near,
    and as destruction from the Almighty it comes.

    Joel 2:

    Let all the inhabitants of the land tremble,
    for the day of the Lord is coming; it is near,
    2 a day of darkness and gloom,
    a day of clouds and thick darkness!

    Return to the Lord

    12 “Yet even now,” declares the Lord,
        “return to me with all your heart,
    with fasting, with weeping, and with mourning;
    13     and rend your hearts and not your garments.”
    Return to the Lord your God,
        for he is gracious and merciful,
    slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love;
        and he relents over disaster.

    The Lord Will Pour Out His Spirit

    28 “And it shall come to pass afterward,
        that I will pour out my Spirit on all flesh;
    your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
        your old men shall dream dreams,
        and your young men shall see visions.
    29 Even on the male and female servants
        in those days I will pour out my Spirit.

    30 “And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. 31 

    The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the Lord comes.

    32 [ctt title=”And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved. ” tweet=”Christ Jesus is Lord! A new heavens and a new earth await the Lord’s return.” coverup=”W2wAz”]

    To be continued…