"Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. But do this with gentleness and respect..." 1 Peter 3:15
This morning a lovely Jehovah's Witness lady knocked on my door. Guess what she wanted to tell me about?! The end times!! She said they believe we are living in the end times and wanted to give me information on how to study my Bible and know how to "survive" during the end times. If you have read much of my blog at all, you know that my favorite thing to do is talk about scripture. So I welcomed the conversation.
I patiently waited while she went through her "talk." When she finished I informed her that I have no fear of the end times, for I know Jesus is my Savior and Lord Who died on the cross as a sacrifice for my sins. I said this while anticipating her reaction: "Well, I believe Jesus is our Savior--but I do not believe He is God." This led to a lovely discussion of the Bible that went round and round. For instance, how can a mere man save you?? I will spare you all of the details, because that is not the point of this post. The point is that this incident reminded me how important it is for each of us to know God's Word and know what it is we believe so we are ready to lovingly tell others God's truth (part of that being that Jesus is God incarnate!!).
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Saturday, June 27, 2009
Rapture Video
I ran across this video on youtube.com and it provides what I think is a good, simple explanation of The Rapture and The Tribulation. I hope you can take a couple of minutes to view it.
Thursday, June 25, 2009
When's the War?
The War of Gog and Magog continued from my previous post:
When will the the War of Gog and Magog happen? God's word tells us when Russia and her allies will attack Israel. Judging from current world events it is obvious this could take place at any time. However, scripture says that Israel's enemies will strike "On that day when My people Israel dwell safely..." (Ezekiel 38:14). This war will happen when Israel is in a state of safety. When will this time come? The only time Israel is going to be in a state of security and safety is when the Antichrist makes a peace treaty with Israel (this treaty is what will begin the seven year Tribulation).
So will these armies wipe Israel off the map? Nope! God is going to display His glory to the world by protecting Israel. God will use a devastating earthquake (Ezekiel 38:19-20), the armies will end up killing each other (Ezekiel 38:21), disease will be spread among the armies (Ezekiel 38:22), and devastation from above--flooding, rain, hail, fire and brimstone (Ezekiel 38:22), destroying Israel's attackers.
This will be yet another prophecy fulfilled from scripture. It is amazing the amount of prophecy given in scripture that has already been fulfilled. When I read and study all of the fulfilled prophecy in the Bible (especially about Jesus), I wonder--how can people not believe? And then I remember, one of the enemy's greatest tactics is keeping those Bibles shut. If you never open your Bible, you will never see the evidence. Believe me, I know. I was that way for 23 years.
When will the the War of Gog and Magog happen? God's word tells us when Russia and her allies will attack Israel. Judging from current world events it is obvious this could take place at any time. However, scripture says that Israel's enemies will strike "On that day when My people Israel dwell safely..." (Ezekiel 38:14). This war will happen when Israel is in a state of safety. When will this time come? The only time Israel is going to be in a state of security and safety is when the Antichrist makes a peace treaty with Israel (this treaty is what will begin the seven year Tribulation).
So will these armies wipe Israel off the map? Nope! God is going to display His glory to the world by protecting Israel. God will use a devastating earthquake (Ezekiel 38:19-20), the armies will end up killing each other (Ezekiel 38:21), disease will be spread among the armies (Ezekiel 38:22), and devastation from above--flooding, rain, hail, fire and brimstone (Ezekiel 38:22), destroying Israel's attackers.
This will be yet another prophecy fulfilled from scripture. It is amazing the amount of prophecy given in scripture that has already been fulfilled. When I read and study all of the fulfilled prophecy in the Bible (especially about Jesus), I wonder--how can people not believe? And then I remember, one of the enemy's greatest tactics is keeping those Bibles shut. If you never open your Bible, you will never see the evidence. Believe me, I know. I was that way for 23 years.
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
The War of Gog and Magog
Let me first make a disclaimer--I am not a Bible scholar, so if there is anything you read on this blog you want to verify, please, by all means--open your Bible and find the answers. As mentioned before, I have been reading about end times stuff and believe others need to be aware of it. Only God knows the time and hour, but Jesus told us of signs to watch for--so obviously he wanted us to be on the look out!
I recently read about the War of Gog and Magog; had never read about it before. It is amazing how long you can read God's word and continue learning (or maybe I am just a slow learner!). Anywho, I wanted to post this topic because it is so relevant in current events. Ezekiel 38 talks about this war and for reasons I will not attempt to bore you with in this post, Magog is Russia. Gog is the ruler of Magog (Russia). To very briefly sum this prophecy up, Russia and Iran (along with their allies) will team up and attack Israel. With Putin and Ahmadinejad already being chummy-chummy and helping each other out in the nuclear warfare department, doesn't seem too far off, eh? Especially after hearing Ahmadinejad's comments about wiping Israel off the face of the map.
My point is this--this could begin TODAY! I believe and pray this won't happen until after the Rapture, but I'm not God so I can't say for certain. Because we don't know for certain, we have to make a decision about Jesus today. We do not want to be left behind to suffer the Tribulation. I hope to write more about the Tribulation soon.
I recently read about the War of Gog and Magog; had never read about it before. It is amazing how long you can read God's word and continue learning (or maybe I am just a slow learner!). Anywho, I wanted to post this topic because it is so relevant in current events. Ezekiel 38 talks about this war and for reasons I will not attempt to bore you with in this post, Magog is Russia. Gog is the ruler of Magog (Russia). To very briefly sum this prophecy up, Russia and Iran (along with their allies) will team up and attack Israel. With Putin and Ahmadinejad already being chummy-chummy and helping each other out in the nuclear warfare department, doesn't seem too far off, eh? Especially after hearing Ahmadinejad's comments about wiping Israel off the face of the map.
My point is this--this could begin TODAY! I believe and pray this won't happen until after the Rapture, but I'm not God so I can't say for certain. Because we don't know for certain, we have to make a decision about Jesus today. We do not want to be left behind to suffer the Tribulation. I hope to write more about the Tribulation soon.
As I said in a previous post, I would love to hear back from anyone who may be reading this! Please feel fre
e to comme
nt or email me. :)
e to comme
nt or email me. :)As a side note, two of the books I have been reading on this topic are What in the World Is Going On? by David Jeremiah and Epicenter by Joel Rosenberg. I highly recommend both.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Like a Thief
A huge part of the reason I felt driven to write this blog is because of the rapture. I have been reading about the rapture and end times a lot lately. I have been reading about the signs Jesus said to watch for and about all the prophecy in the Bible. I don't think it is by coincidence God has me focused on this subject. I believe we are in the season of the end times. Will that season be long or short? I do not know. If I were to guess, I think it is VERY near.
Regardless of how soon it will happen, Jesus told us to watch and be ready. For anyone who may not know what the rapture is, let me briefly explain. The rapture is when Jesus Christ returns to remove the church (or in other words all of the believers on Earth):
"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." 1 Thessalonians 4:17
Basically we will all just be going about our business one day and--BAM--a bunch of people are suddenly gone. You will be walking around Wal-Mart trying to decide on a bag of potato chips and the guy at the end of the aisle will suddenly be gone leaving his cart full of groceries behind. All believers will vanish:
"...in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:52
The point is--we don't know for certain when the rapture will happen. It could happen today!! This is how Jesus described it:
"for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. " 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4
Jesus will come like a thief when we least expect. That is why we must be proactive to strive toward holy living and tell others about the gospel. We could be gone any day now!! Today could be our last chance to tell those we love about Jesus.
Regardless of how soon it will happen, Jesus told us to watch and be ready. For anyone who may not know what the rapture is, let me briefly explain. The rapture is when Jesus Christ returns to remove the church (or in other words all of the believers on Earth):
"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." 1 Thessalonians 4:17
Basically we will all just be going about our business one day and--BAM--a bunch of people are suddenly gone. You will be walking around Wal-Mart trying to decide on a bag of potato chips and the guy at the end of the aisle will suddenly be gone leaving his cart full of groceries behind. All believers will vanish:
"...in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed." 1 Corinthians 15:52
The point is--we don't know for certain when the rapture will happen. It could happen today!! This is how Jesus described it:
"for you know very well that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. " 1 Thessalonians 5:2-4
Jesus will come like a thief when we least expect. That is why we must be proactive to strive toward holy living and tell others about the gospel. We could be gone any day now!! Today could be our last chance to tell those we love about Jesus.
Monday, June 15, 2009
The Majority
Our sermon Sunday was about evangelism. Scripture tells us that we are to tell others about God's plan of salvation. Jesus says in Matthew 28:19: "Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..."
I remember before I was a believer I didn't understand why Christians were so adamant about telling others about their faith. Now that I understand God's plan of salvation-it makes sense. If I truly believe that someone is headed to eternity in hell and I really love that person--wouldn't I want to make certain they know how to end up in heaven. Why would I ever want that person to suffer? So it isn't that Christians are pushy and want everyone to agree with them. The truth is that Christians really believe there is one way to heaven and they want others to end up in heaven too, instead of eternally being separated from God.
Our pastor gave a statistic in his sermon that about 70% of the population believe that you end up in heaven as a result of works. In other words, if you are baptized, pray certain prayers, or do good things, then you will end up in heaven. That is NOT biblical. The Bible tells us that there is only ONE way to heaven and that is through faith in Christ: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) That tells us that about 70% of the population is lost!! (That is a nice way of saying headed for eternity in hell.) For me that is very convicting. I need to be taking every opportunity to make sure others know God's plan of salvation.
So if you find me or someone else telling you about Jesus and the Gospel--take it as a compliment and be flattered. It means I really, really like you. ;0)
I remember before I was a believer I didn't understand why Christians were so adamant about telling others about their faith. Now that I understand God's plan of salvation-it makes sense. If I truly believe that someone is headed to eternity in hell and I really love that person--wouldn't I want to make certain they know how to end up in heaven. Why would I ever want that person to suffer? So it isn't that Christians are pushy and want everyone to agree with them. The truth is that Christians really believe there is one way to heaven and they want others to end up in heaven too, instead of eternally being separated from God.
Our pastor gave a statistic in his sermon that about 70% of the population believe that you end up in heaven as a result of works. In other words, if you are baptized, pray certain prayers, or do good things, then you will end up in heaven. That is NOT biblical. The Bible tells us that there is only ONE way to heaven and that is through faith in Christ: "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God—not by works, so that no one can boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9) That tells us that about 70% of the population is lost!! (That is a nice way of saying headed for eternity in hell.) For me that is very convicting. I need to be taking every opportunity to make sure others know God's plan of salvation.
So if you find me or someone else telling you about Jesus and the Gospel--take it as a compliment and be flattered. It means I really, really like you. ;0)
Monday, June 8, 2009
Hearing His voice
In John chapter 10 Jesus calls Himself the "good shepherd." There are several great things taught in this chapter, but one thing I think is important is about hearing God's voice. How can we be certain we are hearing from God and not someone else? In this chapter, Jesus states that His sheep know His voice. In other words, Christians (true believers/followers of Christ) will be able to recognize His voice. In addition to this, He says that they will never follow a stranger and will run away from him! Those who truly belong to Him are going to recognize His voice.
The Bible promises that if we have given our lives to Christ, we will indeed recognize His voice. But is there a way to be certain? Thankfully, God has given us something to reassure us--His unchanging Word. The Bible is our ultimate authority. If we have heard God's voice, we can be certain it is true if it matches up with scripture. God will never instruct us in a way that is contrary to scripture because:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
There are hundreds of different religions and denominations out there. You can just turn on the television to see all the different preachers claiming to be preaching God's truth. BUT, we have a test. If one of those religions or churches, or tv preachers teaches something and we want to know if it is true--we must open God's word and find out for ourselves what scripture says. We will either cling to it as truth (if it lines up with scripture) or run away because we will not recognize a strangers voice!
The Bible promises that if we have given our lives to Christ, we will indeed recognize His voice. But is there a way to be certain? Thankfully, God has given us something to reassure us--His unchanging Word. The Bible is our ultimate authority. If we have heard God's voice, we can be certain it is true if it matches up with scripture. God will never instruct us in a way that is contrary to scripture because:
All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching, rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped for every good work. 2 Timothy 3:16-17
There are hundreds of different religions and denominations out there. You can just turn on the television to see all the different preachers claiming to be preaching God's truth. BUT, we have a test. If one of those religions or churches, or tv preachers teaches something and we want to know if it is true--we must open God's word and find out for ourselves what scripture says. We will either cling to it as truth (if it lines up with scripture) or run away because we will not recognize a strangers voice!
Sunday, June 7, 2009
Joy in the Lord
"Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart."
Psalm 37:4
When you have a child, you witness daily the joy they find in the small things in life. They delight themselves in things we don't even notice (like water!). Seeing the joy and delight Landon finds in just the littlest things reminds me of the joy I should find in the Lord.
God's word promises that if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. What a great reminder to me of what my priorities should be. Instead of placing the things I desire first, I need to focus on delighting myself in the author of my salvation. As an added blessing and result of delighting myself in Him, He will give me the desires of my heart.
Psalm 37:4
God's word promises that if we delight ourselves in Him, He will give us the desires of our hearts. What a great reminder to me of what my priorities should be. Instead of placing the things I desire first, I need to focus on delighting myself in the author of my salvation. As an added blessing and result of delighting myself in Him, He will give me the desires of my heart.
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