It Will Come Whether You're Looking For It Or Not

It saddens me when I come across a Christian who is either clueless or just not interested in the rapture. According to the Bible it will happen in the last days, of which we are currently living in. We are living in a time where lawlessness abounds. Just look at the new law allowing live birth abortions. Who would have ever known? And there are other things that people, and even churches, are saying is good, in spite of the Word of God saying those things are evil. Jesus said in Luke 21:28, "Now when these things begin to happen, look up and lift up your heads, because your redemption draws near." 

The rapture is an event when Jesus will call His Bride, all true born again believers in Him, to leave this earth and to be with Him forever. 1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 tells us, "For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will by no means precede those who are asleep. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words." I am truly looking forward to this event, and believe it will be soon.

There are some people being taught, or already believe that the rapture will not happen before the Antichrist comes. But 2 Thessalonians 2:7-9 teaches differently. "For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work; only He who now restrains will do so until He is taken out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth and destroy with the brightness of His coming. The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs and lying wonders." The Restrainer is the Holy Spirit in us true believers, and God will remove us from this earth before the Antichrist is revealed. After this happens, a seven year tribulation will take place, called Jacob's Trouble, in which God will send His powerful wrath on all unbelievers in this world, especially those unbelieving Jews in Israel. Remember Lot in Sodom and Gomorrah? God removed him because he was the only righteous man living there. God took him out before He destroyed the cities because of their wickedness. We are the Bride of Christ, and we are not appointed to God's wrath, according to 1 Thessalonians 5:9 "For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ."

And then, there are scoffers. I remember talking to a guy who occasionally preaches, asking him if he was looking forward to the rapture since the world is getting so wicked. I was surprised to hear him tell me no. He said people have thought for years He is coming, and He hasn't come yet. Because people have set dates, and nothing happened, many people have gotten discouraged and stop looking for Him. Jesus said this in Matthew 24:36, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only." No wonder people lose hope. 

We should be anxiously looking for Jesus' return to happen at any time. It is imminent, as nothing needs to happen before it occurs. The things we are seeing happening in this world, and especially in the Middle East, are those things that will happen after the rapture. So how much sooner will we be taken up?

If you are truly born again and have a personal relationship with Jesus as your Lord and Savior, then you should be happy about leaving this world to spend eternity with Him. You should be rejoicing, knowing that He is coming soon for you.

If you don't know Jesus, then you will be left behind, to face God's wrath. Which will be nothing this world has ever experienced. Please, make today the day of your salvation. Ask Jesus to be your Lord and Savior, acknowledging He paid the price for your sins with His blood on the cross. Romans 10:9-10 tells us, "If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation." Please make this decision now. We do not know when Jesus will call His Bride up. It could be today, tonight, or tomorrow. Every day brings us one day closer.

Maranatha! Come Lord Jesus!!
Jesus says, "Surely, I am coming quickly." Revelation 22:20

God's Everlasting Love

The Bible is filled with statements of God's everlasting love for us. The most popular one is John 3:16 "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life." If that alone isn't proof of His love for us, after all, He gave His innocent and perfect Son, Jesus, over to die a brutal death on a cross to pay for our sins, and to make it possible that we, through faith in Him, can share eternity with Him, then I don't know what is. True love. To us, who don't deserve it.

What should be our response? We love Him because He first loved us, of course. How can we show our love to Him?

There is an excellent book called "Practicing His Presence" by Brother Lawrence and Frank Laubach. The pages encourage us to seek the LORD's presence throughout our days, and shares the testimonies of these two authors on how they were able to do it. It is truly an inspiration to those who want to know the LORD in a much deeper way than they do. 

Here is a quote from the last chapter that is worth sharing. In essence, it reveals the true purpose of this book, and the results of disciplining oneself to seek the LORD.

Let all your employment be to know God. The more you actually know Him, the more you will desire to know Him. Since knowledge is a measurement of love, the deeper and more intimate you are with Him, the greater will be your love for Him. And if our love for the LORD is great, then we will love Him as much during grief as in joy.

I am sure you know that most people's love for the LORD stops at a very shallow stage. Most love God for the tangible things He gives them. They love Him because of His favor to them. You must not stop on such a level, no matter how rich His mercies have been to you. Many outward blessings can never bring you as close to God as can one simple act of faith.

So seek Him often by faith.

Oh, dear friend, the LORD is not outside of you, pouring down favors. The LORD is within you. Seek Him there, within... and no where else.

Let the LORD be the one , the only love of your life. If we do love Him alone, are we not rude if we busy ourselves with trifles, trifles that do not please Him and some which may even offend Him?  Be wise and fear such trifles. They will one day cost us dearly.

Dear friend, would you now begin, today, to be devoted to the LORD, in earnest? Cast everything else out of your heart.  He would posses it alone. Beg of Him that favor. 

Do what you can, and soon you will see that change wrought in you which you are seeking. 

Relationships don't thrive on neglect. They flourish because of intentional efforts to keep the fire of passion burning. How passionate are you to the One who has loved you the most?

Forgetting God

Parental love is sacrificial. If you are a good parent, you pour all your love into a child, raising him, teaching him, making sure he is safe, guiding him to be a successful adult. You want the best for him. And eventually he grows up and leaves the nest. You feel you've done your parenting job well.

If you are fortunate, you will continue to have a warm, loving relationship with that child, and will be included in what's going on in his life. The dynamics change, as it's now a two adult relationship, but it continues to grow and flourish into a strong friendship. And in the later years, the child will still be there for the parent, making sure he is safe, and loving him in his time of need.

For some, though, this isn't the case. The child grows up and becomes involved in his own life, leaving his parent behind. Slowly, there are no times of getting together. Fewer phone calls, or texts. And weeks and months continue on with no contact from the child. This leaves the parent wondering what happened. And feeling unloved.

Do you think God feels the same way with us when we spend our days without a thought of Him? If you are a Christian, then at some point you knew you were loved by Him, and accepted the sacrificial love of His Son, Jesus, on the cross so you can have an eternal relationship with Him. Our heavenly Father gave His Son for us, gave us the Scriptures to teach us and guide us, and lovingly watched us grow up. For some of us, we work on our relationship with our Heavenly Father, and grow in Him, loving Him more and more. But for others, we become deeply involved in the things of our lives, and slowly, our devotion to Him is replaced by our devotion to the world around us. We live our lives our own way, and act like we don't need God. As a result, we think of Him less. Pray less. And we hardly take the time to read the Bible. How do you think God feels when we neglect Him?

A relationship takes work, and needs nurturing if it is to flourish. God will always love us. The point is whether we love Him back. Are we responding to His love by staying in touch with Him? When the day is over, have we spent quality time with Him? Or did we forget Him?

Prayerfully, you, the reader, will make every effort to have that close, intimate relationship God so desires with you. The more you put into it, the better and more satisfying it will be. 

My heart says of you, 'Seek his face!'

Your face, LORD, I will seek.   Psalm 27:8

"Now, then, My children, listen to Me.

Blessed are those who keep My ways.

Listen to My instruction and be wise;

do not disregard it.

Blessed are those who listen to Me,

watching daily at My doors,

waiting at My doorway.

For those who find me find life

and receive favor from the LORD.

But those who fail to find Me harm themselves; 

all who hate Me love death."  Proverbs 8:32

His Footprints Are All We Need

A man and His Lord were walking along the beach. The man's life was laid out before him with two sets of footprints. One set belonged to him and the other belonged to the Lord. During the most difficult times of his life, he noticed only one set of footprints. He turned to the Lord and said, "Lord, why did you leave me when I needed You the most?" The Lord replied, "My child, I never left you. When you see one set of footprints, that was when I carried you."

We are familiar with this story and can relate it to our own life experiences. All of us have had, or are having now, very difficult times. Broken relationships. Financial problems. Health concerns. The loss of a loved one. Whatever it is that we face, it robs us of the strength to continue on. Life stops in its frozen tracks. We are trapped in a bubble that no one else shares, and we don't know how to escape. In fact, we don't know if we will ever be free again.

Fortunately, we have a Savior, Jesus, who promises never to leave us or forsake us. Like this story, He walks alongside us and knows every detail of the terrain we are traveling on. He becomes our strength when we are too weak to continue on. And He will carry us.... if we want Him to. All we need to do is to call on Him to help us in our times of need. To give Him our burdens. And to trust that He will make it alright.

I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in Him. - Psalm 40:1-3

Because he loves Me, says the Lord, I will rescue him; I will protect him, for he acknowledges My Name. He will call on Me, and I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him. Psalm 91:14-15

Troubles are inevitable in our lives. Jesus even said we can expect them. What a relief to know that we have a loving Savior who will walk with us in those storms, to take us through them to the other side. For this, we can rejoice.

A New Year

As a new year approaches, some people reflect on the previous year, and wonder what the next year will bring. For some, the previous year was filled with happy events, and they are optimistic for the new year to bring the same. Yet for others, there was sadness, and they're not sure if things will turn around for them in the following year. A year is a long time, and since we can't see into the future, we can't predict what's going to happen. We keep our fingers crossed and hope for the best.

What does the Bible say about our past, present and future? Since God is ultimately in control of everything, He must know what the new year will bring. For Isaiah 46:10 tells us He declares the end from the beginning. So, here we are. A brand new year. And He has already seen it with His eyes! How does this affect us?

First of all, He created each one of us in His image, and He desires that we have an intimate relationship with Him through faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. As His children, we are promised that He will never leave us nor forsake us. We aren't on this journey called life alone. Every thing that happens to us has been approved by God to mold us and make us into what He has designed us to be. As a result, we know that because He is the Potter and we are the clay, everything that comes our way is a result of His love for us. Even if we hurt. This isn't a perfect world, and following Him never promises a pain free experience. In fact, Jesus tells us that every day has enough trouble of its own. But He gives us the strength to persevere.

Paul tells us in Philippians 3 this:

Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended,

but one thing I do, forgetting those things 

which are left behind and reaching forward

to those things which are ahead.

I press toward the goal for the prize

of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.

For our citizenship is in heaven,

from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior,

the LORD Jesus Christ,

who will transform our lowly body

that it may be conformed to His glorious body,

according to the working by which

He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.

As we enter into a new year filled with unknowns, let us fix our eyes on the LORD. Develop a habit of constantly being in His presence through daily prayer time and Bible reading. Make Him your top priority, leaning on Him to guide you and direct you. 

Show me Your ways, O LORD.

Teach me Your paths.

Lead me in Your truth and teach me.

For You are the God of my salvation.

On You I wait all the day. (Psalm 25:4-5)

Las Vegas Is Just The Beginning...

Recently, we have seen the horrible news of the shooting in Las Vegas, killing over 50 innocent people who were enjoying a concert, and injuring over 500 others. The shooter had positioned himself on the 32nd floor of a nearby hotel, loaded with assault weapons, with the intention to murder people he didn't know. His motive is still uncertain. Unending gunfire that lasted fifteen minutes, sounding like whirling helicopter blades, will continue to resonate in survivors' minds for the rest of their lives, haunting them. The question remains, "Why?" And another question some are asking is, "Why did God allow this?"

The answers are presented in the Bible, and a lot of theologians are explaining it so people can understand. The bottom line is this: Sin, and Satan. People don't want to think that there is an evil realm hovering over them, seeking to destroy people, luring them away from faith in God. He didn't make people to be robots, but to have free will to choose whether they will follow Him and obey, or to reject Him and do what they wish, with the reality that Satan and his demons, who occupy this world, are ready to steal their hearts. And wreck their lives. People who refuse to follow Christ, and allow Satan to occupy their minds, and have his way in them, will do such acts of destruction. 

"The one who does what is sinful is of the devil." 1 John 3:8 

And this is just the beginning. The Bible tells us that at a certain time, Jesus will call all His true followers up to be with Him, leaving this world behind. This, called the Rapture, will bring together both those who have already died, knowing Him, and those who are alive, knowing Him. This will be a sudden event, unknown to the rest of the world. 

"For the LORD Himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the LORD in the air. And so we will be with the LORD forever. Therefore encourage one another with these words." 

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 

Then, for those left behind, all hell will break loose, as Satan, who will occupy the Antichrist, and his demons, will have his heyday. Evil acts will be rampant, making the shooting in Las Vegas, seem like child's play. This period is called the Tribulation, which will last seven years. There will be lawlessness, hatred, killing, and devastation happening every day with no relief. People who decide to receive Jesus Christ as their LORD and Savior during this time will be beheaded, becoming martyrs. There will be big wars. Terrible weather. Diseases. Famine. And it will be extremely hard for anyone to survive this awful time. The peak will occur when Satan tries to be God, taking over the Temple in Jerusalem.

Then, after all that time has expired, Jesus will return with His Saints, who He had raptured up earlier, to put an end to the Tribulation, thus ushering in a peaceful Millenium of a thousand years. This will be followed by a short period of time where Satan will be released again to cause another war. Then, the final Judgment will take place, after which Satan, all his demons, and all those poor souls who had rejected Christ will be sent to spend eternity suffering in the never ending fires of hell. 

"Anyone whose name was not found written in the book of life was thrown into the lake of fire." Revelation 20:15

There is good news in all of this! Since God has no beginning and no end, He saw the end from the beginning, and sent His Son Jesus to pay for our sins on the cross, shedding His innocent blood for us. He died, was resurrected, and ascended into heaven. Someday soon He will return for His own. For those who have placed their trust in Him for their salvation. Christians won't have to go through these terrible days, as they will be exempt from God's wrath on evil. He doesn't wish for anyone to perish, but for all to have eternal life through Jesus, His Son. 

How about you? Are you sure of your eternal destiny? Have you placed your trust in Jesus as your LORD and Savior? If so, instead of going through the agony that is promised for those who have rejected Him, you will be safe in His Presence. Things here will become far worse than it has ever been. Scenes like that which has just happened in Las Vegas, will continue to escalate, and human rights will disappear. Now is the time to be certain of your future. Trust in Jesus today. Ask Him to be your LORD and Savior.

"Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also, there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, "Behold the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. There shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away. Then, He who sat on the throne said, "Behold, I make all things new." And He said to me, "Write, for these words are true and faithful." Revelation 20:1-5 

Family Breaker

All things are pointing to an event that will tear apart families all across the world. Though it was predicted thousands of years ago, to occur at a time when certain things were to go on, those things are indeed happening now. 

When this happens, babies and small children will disappear. A spouse will disappear, leaving the other one to wonder what happened. Parents will be missing, leaving their teens behind. Never before has this happened, yet when it does, it will be done quickly, with no warning... except the warnings spoken in the Bible, and by some clergy and those who know end time prophecies.

What is this event? 

The Rapture. Jesus spoke of it. Paul wrote about it. It is an event that no one knows when will happen, except God Himself.

But of that day and hour no one knows,

not even the angels of heaven, but My Father only.

Two men will be in the field:

one will be taken and the other left.

Two women will be grinding at the mill:

one will be taken and the other left.

Watch, therefore, for you do not know

what hour your Lord is coming. (Jesus - Matthew 24:36,40-42)

Now this I say, brethren (those who have placed their trust in Christ), 

that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God... 

Behold, I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep (die), 

but we shall all be changed - in a moment, 

in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. 

For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised incorruptible, 

and we shall be changed. - (Paul - 1 Corinthians 15:50-52)

Only those individuals who have placed their trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior will be raptured, and taken to heaven. This will be done before God places His wrath on the evil that will remain on this earth. Ever since Satan has entered the scene, sin has affected every single person, and Satan has lured people away from God. 

Your adversary the devil walks about like 

a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. (1 Peter 5:8)

When people ask Jesus to be their Savior, the Holy Spirit lives in them. This is God's way of having Himself live in His followers to guide them and help them to live holy lives. God is more powerful than Satan and with the Holy Spirit in Christians, evil is restrained. At the moment the rapture occurs, the Restrainer is removed, taking all true believers with Him to heaven.

The mystery of lawlessness (evil) is already at work; 

only He (the Holy Spirit) who now restrains will do so

until He is take out of the way. And then the lawless one will be revealed, 

whom the Lord will consume with the breath of His mouth

and destroy with the brightness of His coming.

The coming of the lawless one is 

according to the working of Satan,

with all power, signs, and lying wonders, 

and with all unrighteous deception 

among those who perish,

because they did not receive the love of the truth,

that they might be saved. (2 Thessalonians 2:7-10)

Satan knows he doesn't have long on this earth, and is working overtime luring people to not believe that Jesus is the Son of God, who gave His life on the cross to pay for our sins. It is only through faith in Jesus that one can be saved. 

If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus,

and believe in your heart

that God raised Jesus from the dead,

you will be saved. 

For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,

and with the mouth confession 

is made unto salvation. (Romans 10:9-10)

Sin is the ultimate family breaker. God doesn't desire this to be, but because of sin, His Holiness will judge every person. If a person places his trust in Jesus as his personal Savior, he will inherit eternal life and spend eternity with God. Everyone else who refuses God's free gift of salvation will perish in the fiery flames of hell with Satan... forever. 

Children who are too young to be accountable for their faith will go to be with the Lord.

Jesus said, "Let the little children come to Me." (Matthew 19:14)

When they become older and can make their own decisions, then they will be responsible for their own faith. They don't inherit their parents' faith. They need to know Jesus on their own.

Who will you choose? Jesus? Or not. Your decision will affect your family. If you are a parent, and know Christ as your Lord and Savior, then you will spend eternity with your young children. If you and your spouse know Jesus, both of you will spend eternity together. It is so important to take this seriously, as we do not know the day or hour when Jesus will return for His Bride, the true believers.

Don't be left behind. Be sure now.