In many ways it doesn’t feel right. Look around and listen to the media and other outlets and you will wonder exactly what went wrong?
In the last thirty years or so, our country has gone from being “proud to be an American” to “that’s not my President” and other ways of expressing disgust with our country. The thing that strikes me the most is the age of those who seem to hate their own country. They’ve never had to go to war or even be required to be in the service of our country. Most of them have no idea about conservation of energy or money or being careful about getting a car that uses less fuel because of a gas shortage.
Most just want to throw a tantrum and burn cities and cars and loot buildings for little to no reason at all. Yet they hate this country! If you hate the country that most people seem to be trying so hard to get into, then LEAVE!
You are probably wondering why this post started out this way. It is because most of these feelings and opinions were foretold over two thousand years ago. Unruly children, perilous times, diseases that we’ve never seen before, people who don’t really care about themselves or how they live…all of these were foretold by Jesus in Matthew 24. But these are just the beginning of troubles. We haven’t seen how it will be and hopefully, the church will be taken out of here before that time comes.
God cares for and loves His Creation, you and me, and the whole Earth, but His patience doesn’t last forever. There is a day coming soon that many people are not ready for. That is the return of Jesus for His Bride, the church. He will not be coming back to Earth until after the Tribulation but when He comes this time it will be as a conquering King! I pray that everyone who reads this is ready for His return because we don’t know the time. It could be on a Sunday morning or in the middle of the night. It could be during the day on no particular day. Be looking for Him and watching because He is coming back!
People today have accepted a lie. The culture of the world around us believes that Jesus is just one of many ways to eternal life in heaven. People want to “choose their pathway” believing “ that it will lead them to God. You have only two choices. Live according to the Word of God and believing in Jesus Christ or choose not to believe. Those are the pathways that you have to choose from and there are only 2.
There have never been “many ways” to salvation. God was the way to salvation in the Old Testament and it was through faith in Him that those who wanted eternity found it. Their faith and belief in His Promises was the key to eternity, now we have faith and belief in Jesus Christ that brings salvation and forgiveness to all who will believe in Him. So, the concept of more than one way to heaven breaks down to whom you follow as your Savior. Whether it is Jesus or Buddha or Mohammad or someone else or no one else, that is your choice.
God does not force salvation on anyone. You will either choose to follow Jesus when the Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin or you won’t. Today, many people seem to think that Christians are narrow-minded or exclusive and not modern enough to be in the 21st century. The Bible addresses all of the problems that any “self-help” book does and it gives you the advice to beat your depression, anxiety, feelings of helplessness through the power of prayer and belief in God’s restorative and healing power.
Is the Bible relevant in the 21st century? Yes, it is and its message is needed more today than ever before. It is the inerrant Word of God. Does it upset people with its exclusive ways and teachings? Yes, but if you follow the guidelines of this book you will be healthier and happier than most of the people around you. God loves you and He cares about every part of your life, not just your spiritual life. Consider that He knows when a sparrow falls to the ground, so if He cares about all of His creation enough to be mindful of birds, don’t you think that mankind is even more important since we are made in His Image?
Remember the fact that all of us have an eternity that comes after this life. Where we spend that eternity is up to us. Choose to follow Jesus and live with Him in eternity or choose some other “way” and end up in hell. It is a very fine line that we are balanced on during our life and the choice that we make about our eternity when we feel convicted of our need for salvation is an eternal one. Make a choice that you will be able to truly live abundantly with rather than being bound in hell.
God is able to give you a new Spirit when you come to Him in faith and in repentance. I pray that all who are seeking Him will make their decision soon.
In the past year or so I think we have all felt a little broken in some way. Some, I think, more than others. Especially the doctors and nurses who are on the front lines of treating this disease that doesn’t seem to yield to a vaccine. It just keeps mutating and changing and no one knows whether the shots will work against this one or that one and if it does work…for how long? Then, after all of this, there are the everyday diseases that take our loved ones and the criminals and others who shoot people for no real reason. The brokenness of our world and our lives, to one extent or another, just seems to keep expanding from one day to the next with no ending in sight.
Where do we find solace? Can we find help in our lives that will bring some closure to this broken feeling that we have? Yes! By giving your heart to Jesus and following Him for the rest of your time on Earth you can have hope and a future regardless of what may be going on around you or in your life right now.
The news and the media that we get our news from are no help these days. Sometimes we hear good news and sometimes it is not such good news. Our families are beset with cancers and other diseases. Our children are being rebellious at times and even our job is not helping much with prices going up at the grocery store and the gas station. We look around and even on Friday, we may feel better because the weekend is here but then Monday comes and we have to endure it again.
This time that we are living in has been prophesied in the Bible. If you go to church or if you are curious, check it out in Matthew 24 and Luke 21. Jesus tells us that all sorts of problems will be happening just before the end of the age (the church age). We are living in that period of time right now and whether we choose to believe it or not won’t change that fact. All of the prophecies in the Bible have come true except for the Tribulation and the Rapture (taking away) of the church. The Rapture will happen first and when that day comes many will be blessed but there will be many more that will be left to live through the Tribulation period of seven years.
I pray that anyone who reads this will seek to find a Bible-teaching church and make sure of your salvation. Read the books of John and Acts and Romans. Pray that God will touch your heart and draw you to become a follower of Jesus. The problems and the diseases that are being reported today are just the beginning. It will get much worse during the Tribulation so make sure that your soul and your heart belongs to Jesus Christ before that day comes.
Even on the days when we don’t think that He does…He can and does hear everything. Your fears, your needs, your prayers from your heart even when you can’t speak them aloud. God doesn’t abandon His children. Those He has chosen as His own are His and will be His for eternity. The problem is this: many of us who have been chosen don’t realize it…yet. Sometimes we feel His touch in our heart when we hear a sermon at the church we attend. Sometimes we will hear it in a song on the radio or a sermon on TV. If you read your Bible but have not given your heart to Jesus yet, occasionally the words on a specific page or from a specific verse will stand out to you. You can’t explain the reason for it but something from one of these has caused you to seek Him earnestly.
Why do we feel these feelings or notice a verse or something from a sermon? It is because God loves you! He has cared for you since before the Earth was formed. He has a plan for your life. God cares for you more than anyone else can! Do you feel that you don’t matter to anyone? You matter to God. He knows you and what you can be and do in this life because He is our Creator. He wove your DNA together in the womb with specific traits and abilities and your own personality so that you can be a blessing to Him and for His Kingdom. There is something that He wants you to do because you are the only one who can do it.
God knows every thought that everyone thinks so you can be sure He knows what you say in your prayer or even when you are talking to someone else. Our words, good or bad, are what others hear and they make their opinion of you because of what you say. Words may not break bones, but they can cause more pain and more deep wounds between siblings or friends than any weapon you could use. Words can cause wounds which never heal completely and they can cause more problems because of the way they are interpreted by those who hear the tone of your voice even if you didn’t intend to hurt someone’s feelings.
Yes, God hears every word. Whether He answers your prayers in this life or by taking you to heaven to give you a life that you could not have here…it is His prerogative, after all He is God. He doesn’t owe you anything and His timetable of answering your prayer or mine is His, not our idea of when He should do it. He knows your problems and your pains and He hears your prayers for your own life and for those that you love. God loves you more than anyone in this world and He loves you more deeply than anyone else could.
The Living Message of Christ 