Are You Sure?

10413c62fcd24f8fbc881ce782ac1eca[1]

II Peter 1:10a (KJB), “Wherefore the rather, brethren, give diligence to make your calling and election sure:”

God has called you, chosen you, elected you for a certain position. He has a plan and a purpose for your life and it isn’t just to make due and just get by until you get to Heaven. There is something (things) that He wants you to do here. He created you to do them. Peter knew how important this is so when God revealed to him that his life here on earth would soon come to an end, Peter took this opportunity to give a final warning to the Church.

II Peter 1:1-12 (NIV), “Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust. Now for this very reason also, applying all diligence, in your faith supply moral excellence, and in your moral excellence, knowledge, and in your knowledge, self-control, and in your self-control, perseverance, and in your perseverance, godliness, and in your godliness, brotherly kindness, and in your brotherly kindness, love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they render you neither useless nor unfruitful in the true knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For he who lacks these qualities is blind or short-sighted, having forgotten his purification from his former sins. Therefore, brethren, be all the more diligent to make certain about His calling and choosing you; for as long as you practice these things, you will never stumble; for in this way the entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ will be abundantly supplied to you. Therefore, I will always be ready to remind you of these things, even though you already know them, and have been established in the truth which is present with you.”

He needed them to be sure of their calling! If we aren’t completely convinced and sure of the fact that we have been chosen, handpicked, by God, we will never do what He called us to do. We will never fulfill our divine purpose. Peter warns about those who have turned their backs on God’s purpose for their lives and have made it their sole purpose to get us to walk away from God and His plans for us. (John warns us of the same thing in John 2:26)..

II Peter 2:14 (KJB), “Having eyes full of adultery, and that cannot cease from sin; beguiling unstable souls: an heart they have exercised with covetous practices; cursed children:”

Look at some of the words used in the different versions of this scripture: They beguile (KJB), bait and lure (AMP), and they seduce (NASB) those who are unstable (all of these versions use the word unstable). The only way we can remain stable is to know God and be sure of our calling. In a healthy marriage no one can lure or seduce one of them away from their spouse. It just isn’t going to happen. Seduction happens when there is some type of instability. Just as in a marriage covenant, we have to remain vigilant in our relationship with Christ.

II Peter 3:17 (NIV), “Therefore, dear friends, since you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.”

Be sure! Be sure of who He is- that He is able to perfect and finish the work that He has started in you.
Be sure of who you are- you are His child and you are accepted in the beloved.
Be sure of His calling on your life- He has called you to liberty!

When we are totally convinced of these things, when we are sure, no person, no devil in Hell will be able to seduce us away. We will see right through the lies.

We are destined for Glory- Be sure of that!

Romans 8:5-6 (NASB) “The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”

End Days?

This was originally written for a family member several years ago that asked this question: What is your opinion of the days we are living in? And can you give me some scriptures. My Answer was: “I don’t just want to give you a bunch of scriptures to read that you may or may not understand. God says that unless you are from His Kingdom, you can’t understand His word. His Kingdom is His family, His Children. Everyone is not part of His family. Only those who have asked Jesus to come into their hearts and to be their Lord are His Children, He loves EVERYONE! But they are not all His. Believing in God isn’t enough to enter the Kingdom. The bible says that demons believe and tremble, but they are not His (and defiantly not part of His kingdom). So first I must ask if you have asked Jesus to be your Lord. You don’t have to do anything to earn it, just tell Him you need Him, that you are sorry for the wrong that you have done, against Him and others, and then simply ask Him for His love and forgiveness.
Now to answer the question, I do believe there isn’t too much time left on this earth. The Bible says that even Jesus doesn’t know the exact hour, but I believe we can know the “season”. By looking at everything that is going on in the world, I would have to say that we are in the season for Christ’s return. He will be coming back for His Family and we need to be ready. If it ends up being hundreds of days or hundreds of years, we live like He is coming NOW. There are literally hundreds of scriptures that talk about His return, the last days, and what will be happening in the end. I have chosen a few for you to read. Please look them up in the Bible and read the whole chapters. Some Bible’s have cross-references and they tell you where to look for the same subject. Some scriptures that talk about what will be going on in the world are: I Timothy 3:1, II Peter 3:3, Isaiah 9:2, Isaiah 58:10, and 60:2, Joel 2:31-32, Mica 7:8 Hebrews 1:2. It would benefit you to read the whole chapter of Matthew 24. My favorite “end times” verse is Revelation 3:10-12 “Because you have kept My command to persevere, I also will keep you from the hour of trial which shall come upon the whole world, to test those who dwell on the earth. Behold, I am coming quickly! Hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown. He who overcomes, I will make him a pillar in the temple of My God, and he shall go out no more. I will write on him the name of My God and the name of the city of My God, the New Jerusalem, which comes down out of heaven from My God. And I will write on him My new name.” Then to give you even more hope and security read all of Psalms 23 and Psalms 91! God will take care of those that are His! He loves us more than we love our own children! and more than our parents love us. I hope this was helpful. Just remember one thing, the world may be bad and scary, but God is GOOD!”