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!”
Tag Archives: hope
Lessons from the Life of David
I love reading the Psalms. Many of which were written by David. His is a “Man after God’s own heart” according to God himself-mine too. David is real in his worship to the Lord. He isn’t perfect and tells us all about his faults, fears and sin. After committing adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband (along with several other soldiers) murdered, he writes Psalms 51, “Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love: according to your great compassion blot out my iniquity and cleanse me from my sin.” He remembers his days as a simple shepherd boy in Ps. 23, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want, He makes me to lie down in green pastured; He leads me beside quiet waters.” David lets us know when things got tough for him, Ps. 69, “Save me, O God, for the waters have threatened my life. I have sunk in deep mire, and there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters and a flood overflows me. I am weary with my crying, my throat is parched; my eyes fail while I wait for my God,” and then David always hopes, expects and declares God’s salvation, “O God, in thy greatness of thy loving-kindness answer with thy saving truth.”
David may have begun his life as a simple seventh son of a shepherd, but his heart of thanksgiving, his desire to see God, his determination to magnify the Lore, were all things that God could use. Was David perfect? Obviously no, ask his multiple wives, his concubines, his children…but God used David mightily. He wrote songs and praises to his God. He conquered the enemies of God as a mighty warrior, and he ruled as King over God’s people for 40 years.
Another lesson to learn from David, he didn’t work his way to the top. He humbly watched his father’s sheep and when asked came and sat at the feet of Saul, who was tormented by evil spirits, to play his harp and bring relief to his king. Before he fought his first real battle, if you disregard the lion, bear and the Giant, Goliath, God anointed the simple shepherd boy with the heart of worship as King. Even after Samuel anointed David, he was content to wait for God to place him on the throne. He steadfastly refused to harm Saul in any way, contrary to the advice of his own men. He repeatedly said, “Touch not God’s anointed” and even killed the messenger who came to proclaim the death of Saul and take credit for his undoing.
We are all human, including the great men and women of faith that we find in Scriptures. They feared, sinned, got weary and sad. They lost heart, friends, family and some even their lives. But like David, they loved God, and were willing to be used by him. So to me, the most important lesson to be learned from David is to keep your passion for the Lord white hot, fan the flames of love that is in your heart by praising Him, even when things aren’t going as planned or as hoped for. Wouldn’t you want to hear the Lord say, “That’s a man after my own heart” about you?
Book Review for “Though My Heart is Torn”
I was given a chance to review this book by the author, Joanne Bischof, and I loved it! Now I have to get book one! I will definitely be reading more of this author. Good Christian romance, not preachy, but full of God’s love. The characters are real, and this book talks about some tough issues and imperfect people who are trying to do the right thing. The story is set in the Blue Ridge Mountains in days when living was hard. I give this book 5 stars.
Jayde, from “Mr. Topper’s Fabulous Funtown” (a work in progress)
Jayde loved her training at the Academy, even the book learning. She knew how to read and write, figure her sums, and how to fill out all of the forms that go along with being an officer of the law. But her favorite part of the day was when they got to tag along with the Elite Squad, the full fledged, ticket writing, crowd controlling, and crime stopping police. True, there wasn’t a lot of crime taking place in Funtown, which she attributed to the fine job of the Elite Squad, but there were always tickets to write, missing children to locate, gates to guard and famous people to escort. Sometimes, rarely, they got to chase! Once they had to chase a runaway clockwork dog from the “Sprocket’s Stupendous Mechanical Menagerie”. It had shot out of the practice wring and onto the boardwalk before Sprocket could get his hands on it. Jayde and her Sr. Officer took off after it, arms pumping and skates click clacking on the wooden slats. It was the most fun she had ever had. Of course the poor thing wound down before they got very far, but she had gone full speed, in town, dodging people, jumping over waste baskets and blowing her whistle with what little air she had to spare.
Keep Walking
Luke 13:31-34 “The same day there came certain of the Pharisees, saying unto him, Get thee out, and depart hence: for Herod will kill thee. And he said unto them, Go ye, and tell that fox, Behold, I cast out devils, and I do cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I shall be perfected. Nevertheless I must walk to day, and tomorrow, and the day following: for it cannot be that a prophet perish out of Jerusalem. O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, which killest the prophets, and stonest them that are sent unto thee; how often would I have gathered thy children together, as a hen doth gather her brood under her wings, and ye would not!”
The Pharisees had been trying to trap Him into saying something they could call Him on. They had just berated Him for healing a woman on the Sabbath, and now they are “warning” Him not to go into Jerusalem, saying that Herod would kill Him. (They didn’t want Him there, too many people to see His undeniable proofs of who He was). But it was Jesus’ response that pierced my heart today. “Tell that fox, I am working at my Father’s business! And I will be perfected.” Perfected sounds great right! He is talking about His death. Then He goes on to say, “I have to go to Jerusalem because prophets don’t die outside of that great city, and I am not there yet, so I will walk, and walk and just keep walking until I get to the cross.” Is He bitter? No, He cries out for Jerusalem in His love. They have spurned His love. What is He thinking about on the way to the city that will cry out for His blood. He is thinking of His End and His Love, and how in death He will be Perfected! He intends to keep working and walking until He arrives. Until He can say, “It is finished!” So when we are feeling overwhelmed, beat up, beat down. When we feel like giving up, or the end is just too far away, or maybe not what we had planned. What do we do? We work and we walk. Cast out devils, cure the sick, do what God has called you to do. Keep on the path! God knows the end. In the end, (if we keep working and walking) is PERFECTION!
Review for “Deliverence”
I was given this book by the author, Ash Krafton, in exchange for an honest review. I loved this book. It tells the story of how simple faith is preferable to making things fit our expectations and desires. The people of Granite Clearing once gave their devotion to the “All-Father” but now have divided their God into dozens of separate “gods”. One man wants to put things right. My only complaint is that it was too short! Planning on reading more by this author. I recomend for teens and up. A great read. I give this book 5 stars.
Once a people devoted to the All-Father, the citizens of Granite Clearing have divided their God into dozens of separate aspects. His religion splintered almost beyond recognition, Thallon sets out on a pilgrimage to seek divine assistance. How can one old man change an entire religion torn asunder?
What is Your Dream?
We all have dreams, aspirations, a call to greatness, a yearning to make a difference. Ask any five year old. They know what they want. You’ll here answers that vary. Some want to be ballerinas, basketball players, doctors, astronauts, rappers, dancers and the list goes on. They all have a great dream. We had those dreams. Mine included most of those already mentioned, plus be a painter, writer and all around creative genius. Then we grow up. What happens to our dreams? Do we just let life carry us away on a path that we never wanted? Do our experiences, failures and lack of recognition deflate our dreams? In retrospect, I would have made a poor astronaut; I get sick on carnival rides…and my artistic talent falls a tad short of genius; however I do have gifts and talents. I think that though some of our dreams are just that, dreams, we can still accommodate, or alter slightly, those dreams that just seem to hang on. They crop up when we least expect it, that something tugging at our heart, that quiet whisper. What is your dream?