Ominous beginning, huh? The title is the truth of history and prophecy. God’s Word says that this is going to happen and all of the signs have already happened except one. If you are a believer in Jesus Christ and you have given your heart to Him, it won’t be long now. For many who do not know Jesus as their Savior life will go on as it always has…until that day when the trumpet sounds and the dead in Christ will explode from their graves, wherever they may be. I say explode because they will have glorified bodies and will meet Him in the air. Then, those of us who are alive and remain steadfast in our faith will be changed in the twinkling of an eye to meet them and our Savior in the air. Oh, what a glorious day that will be!
All of those who have believed in Jesus for their Savior and their eternal hope will be taken from the Earth, from the first century saints until the day of His calling all of us to be with Him. It will be a massive amount of people in the air and unless it happens at night, everyone in the world will know that it happened! I pray that if you don’t believe in Him for your salvation, I hope you won’t be on a plane with a Christian pilot. If you are then unless the co-pilot can take over quickly, the plane will fall. The entire world will be in even more turmoil on that day than it is today. Because many won’t have a clue about what is happening, although there will be quite a number who do know but have not given their heart to Christ. They will be left to mourn over their indecision.
God loves each of you and He does want you to be saved but it is up to you to act on the call of the Holy Spirit when you feel that you need Jesus as your Savior. God doesn’t force His will upon anyone so when you hear a sermon or feel His call in your heart for you to turn to Jesus as your Savior, please don’t turn away as if you have many more years to make that decision. Not one of us is guaranteed even to make it through today, so please seek Him because He is seeking you if you have turned away even once don’t put it off again. Give your heart to Jesus and be saved from the time that will come after the church is taken away.
I know that once you read this you will wonder where that fits in?
In the book of Job, God actually brags to Satan about “My servant, Job”. You know when God is bragging about you you’re doing something right. But, Satan counters with “it is because of the fence you have around him and the blessings that you have given him”. So, God gives Satan permission to afflict Job and take his blessings but not his life.
On the first day that Satan attacks him and his family and his wealth in his cattle and livestock, Job loses everything. Even all of his children were killed that same day. That would be enough to cause anyone to question God’s goodness and His blessings. But…Job doesn’t blame God for any of it. He questions the reason for his birth and for everything that he had to be taken away but he doesn’t blame God for any of it.
I had a “desire of my heart” taken from me this past week. Something that I had been looking forward to for nearly a year but because of some ill-timed financial obligations in the past, I wasn’t able to get this thing. But…I don’t blame God for that either. Having financial difficulty has been a part of my life for most of my life so I’m not a stranger to it at all. I was never taught how to manage my money properly so it started many years ago. In the last few years I have learned my lesson about money but when the damage is done it doesn’t go away easily.
My point in this post/article is that we can’t blame God for something that we caused whether we did it accidentally or just by ignorance. God is not to blame. He sees what you are doing and He knows the outcome but He won’t divulge that information unless you seek Him first. Preferably before you get into trouble. This is something that happened time and time again for God’s people and it is still happening today.
I know that my redeemer lives,
and that in the end, he will stand on the earth.
26 And after my skin has been destroyed,
yet in my flesh, I will see God;
27 I myself will see him
with my own eyes—I, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me! (Job 19: 25-27)
Jesus told His disciples to wait in Jerusalem until they were endued with power from God. The Holy Spirit is the One of the Trinity that gives us boldness just as He did with the disciples. He teaches us and guides us to be able to do the things that God is calling us to do. If you belong to Jesus and you have truly been clothed with the Spirit then you live with a Person of the Trinity every day. Think how wonderful that truly is! He is part of the Godhead and He teaches you about Jesus and helps you to understand the truths found in God’s Word.
Without the Holy Spirit’s influence, you wouldn’t have come to realize that you needed Jesus as your Savior. You didn’t make that decision on your own, it was God’s Holy Spirit that touched you and caused you to realize that you are a sinner. This is how every person has ever been led to the Person of Jesus for their salvation. Once you accept Him as your Savior, the Spirit comes to dwell inside you to teach you more about who you are in Christ and how to be His on a daily basis. We can’t walk as His children without the Holy Spirit guiding us every step of the way. Until we learn this and take it to heart in our daily lives, we are walking as if we are in the dark. We are trying to do “Christianity” in our own power and strength and we can’t do that.
Will God allow us to be this way? Yes, He will. Until we surrender our hearts and our life, taking up our cross every day, we will be living and trying to do His will on our own. It can’t be done that way. God will allow it until we realize that we aren’t getting it and then He will help us get back on track.
Ye idle men!
O, slumbering bride!
You have forsaken your sacred duty
To proclaim the message of eternal hope.
You chase after sensations, signs and ⠃⠇⠐⠥⠎
While crowing at imperfections, and shrugging at your sheep’s demise.
On the fall festival of the pagan harvest, you say to your children,
“Neighbor! Neighbor! Ye fool!
Satan has deceived thee with the sweet taste of ⠉⠯⠽
That was fed to the gods the Pagans ⠺⠕⠗⠩⠊⠏⠏⠫⠖
The gates of Sheol awaiteth for the partaker!”
Yet you say to the blind servant,
“Ye shall possess great favor the God that is ⠏⠗⠂⠡⠫⠆
For the prophet has pledged you the kingdoms of this land!”
O, dysfunctional goats! O, spoiled children!
When will you arise from your beds and depart from your mansion?
Why do you tremble when the Thief rages through your towns?
Why do you tremble, ye wretched coward?
Behold! The fear of the Thief is a snare from ⠓⠍⠂
Whose threats are not but a void substance in the air!
Prepare for war, o ministers of the light!
Sound the alarm! Blow the trumpet!
Play the drum, and shout with courage!
Let the faithful shout to the walls, “Die by fire!”
The wicked shall cry, “Fall on your faces!”
It is that Spirit that gives might over the darkness of Hades!
It is Christ’s power within you that tramples over the strongest tower.
Then, the soldier wearing a white garment shall aim its ⠩⠊⠑⠇⠙
And say to the snake, “Away from thee, Satan!”
Clank the cymbals! Pluck your harps!
Let the angels sing to the Bridegroom of Heaven!
Let the world attack with praise and laughter!
For Christ’s servant shall prevail!
It is possible for your friend to wear the flashiest jewelry, / With the sweet fragrance of perfume and lip gloss.
It’s possible for your friend to look and sound good, / but deep down, all you can smell are the foul toxins of Satan. / It is better to miss the togetherness / Than for your character to be curropted for temporal fun.
God’s provisions are greater than the newest gadget. / His beautiful tune is greater than the rhythm of Drake’s #1 hit.
There is a time to laugh, and a time to lament, / a time to dance and a time to sleep, / A time for gaming and a time for working. / But, when have you set time aside for praising?
A mother grounds his son to establish firm values, / As your Father grounds His children to establish a firm foundation. / Through a week of chastening comes lasting change / That transforms the sinner to a soul-seeking storyteller.
Don’t be displeased when you don’t make it on top / or get the gold medal at the cross country tournament. / Within every loos on this Earth / is a sign of God’s sovereignty, planning your future assignment.
God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit had always been together in eternity before the creation of the universe. This is not a myth or some raving of old men and one day soon the world will know. When sin entered the world in the Garden of Eden, the Son knew that He would have to pay the price for humanity’s sin so that they could be in the Father’s house one day. If He had not given His life for our salvation by being obedient to His Father’s will, we would not have the hope of eternity.
Jesus had to give up His part in the godhead to become human and live a sinless life in order to be the spotless Lamb to pay for our sins. Why? Because it had been known by God the Father since before mankind was created. Jesus had to go through the crucifixion because it was necessary for us to have a place in eternity with God. Mankind was created to have a relationship with God and he did for a while. They were perfect and sinless until they gave in to temptation.
Why did they give in? Because God created the angels and humanity to have a choice. Love and service aren’t real if it is forced. Only if it is given. It was the ability to choose which caused a third of the angels to follow Lucifer. This is the same ability that God gave to Adam and Eve, the ability to choose to follow God’s rules and to follow Him. We still have that same choice today but there are many who choose to go their own way because they are listening to the lies of the world around them.
Money, power, fame, and other “stuff” don’t fulfill your life and it doesn’t fill that empty space in your heart either. All of us grow up having a space inside that we can feel and we know it needs to be filled but some of us live a long time before we find out Who actually fits in that space. We think it’s something like more cars or a bigger house or a younger wife or husband and sometimes these do satisfy us for a time. But that empty space usually comes back if we don’t fill it with Jesus. He is the only Person that fills our empty space completely.
Seek Him out soon because not one of us is guaranteed to wake up tomorrow.
That’s why we can face anything today or tomorrow. Our Savior lives and He is coming back! There is no doubt about that but it is according to God’s timing and not our desires.
One day the Trumpet will sound and those who have died in Christ will rise first and then we who are alive and have remained faithful to Him will be caught up to be with Him as well. This will happen in the “twinkle of an eye”, instantaneous.
The Living Message of Christ 