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Matthew 24: 3-6 The Beginning of the End Times

Only the Father knows when the End Times will truly begin, but Jesus did point out some signs for us to watch for…

In Matthew 24:3, the disciples asked Jesus to share with them what the signs would be. And Jesus answered them, “Take heed that no man deceive you. Jesus goes on to say that many will pretend to be Him and that there will be “wars and rumors of wars”. But Jesus goes on to say, that the “end is not yet”.

He tells us not to be “troubled”.

So clearly wars, in and of themselves, are not a sign that the End Times are here. There have always been wars and rumors of wars. And sadly, there probably always will be. But they are not a sign of the End Times. And if the Bible says it-it’s true!

Trust Jesus, He knows 🙂

The End Times: When & How?

Christians have studied Matthew 24 for centuries in an attempt to figure out when exactly the “Last Days” will arrive. But if there is one thing that is clear, only God our Father knows…

But Jesus did give us some clues that we can look for :). And this next series will attempt to explore some of them.

So let’s talk about what is perhaps the most important comment. In Matthew 24 it seems to imply that “even the elect may be deceived”. Clearly, it is important that we not be deceived by the world or by the many false Messiahs…But how can we protect ourselves from that?

There are three ways! The first is to pray to the Holy Spirit that we will always see the truth-God’s Truth. The second is to read the Bible. When Christ comes again, He will not contradict what God has written :). And lastly, in verse 30 & 31 in Matthew Chapter 24, it says:

“Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory. And He will send His angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other.”

Blessed are we that is very clear that we won’t miss Christ’s Return 🙂

Anger At God Really Comes From Fear!

There are many who are angry at God right now. They question why He doesn’t “fix” things. Make the Covid-19 virus go away. Make the riots stop. Right the country. But God gave us free will. We, ourselves, get to choose our own path. And right now, some are making very poor choices.

It’s okay for us to feel anger at the situation. But we need to keep talking to God about it. Tell Him how we feel! Believe me, He understands! And when we feel those angry feelings rising up, we need to recognize them for what they are-feelings. And as my Dad used to say, feelings lie. We know the Truth-We just need to remember it-God uses all things, even the bad things, to the good of those who love Him.

Also, this isn’t Heaven! In Heaven, all will be perfect. There will be nothing to fear! And although this isn’t Heaven yet, one day we will be in Heaven together, and we need to hold onto that 🙂

And we also need to understand why we feel angry. The root of all anger is fear. There are some who are afraid that if bad things are happening, that means that God does not love them. Nothing could be further from the truth! God loves us!

In the Bible it warns that we “will have troubles”. Jesus warned us of this so that when the “troubles” came, we would would not fear and we would know that He still loves us. All of us!

Do not fear my friends, Jesus has it all in hand, even our “troubles” and He loves us all-each and every one.

Have You Been Misled?

“23 Woe be unto the pastors that destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture! saith the Lord.”–Jeremiah 23:1

“2 Therefore thus saith the Lord God of Israel against the pastors that feed my people; Ye have scattered my flock, and driven them away, and have not visited them: behold, I will visit upon you the evil of your doings, saith the Lord.”–Jeremiah 23:2

How many times have we seen or heard Pastors teach their congregations lessons that are not in agreement with the Bible? The “Gospel of Accomedation” is alive and well, misleading many sincere souls.

God reserves a special punishment to those who “destroy and scatter the sheep”. (We are the sheep :). Have you ever heard the saying, “To whom much has been given, much is expected”?. Such is true for Pastors as well. They have been given the special Blessing of becoming a Pastor, and so they also have a very special responsibility-telling the truth about God’s Word.

But we also have a responsibility: To read God’s Word for ourselves and Interpret it for ourselves. Our future in Heaven is forever, and it is too imporant to leave entirely in someone else’s hands. Pastors can be a really great resource and encourageent, but we need to take responsibility for our future ourselves. And so, we each, need to read and understand the Bible ourselves!

While reading the Bible is easy, understanding it is not. But fortunately for us, God gave us a “Helper”. The Holy Spirit. And if we ask the Holy Spirit in Jesus’ Name to help us understand what we are reading-He will.

Read the Bible. Your future matters!

Max Lucado-Believers Will Be Leaving!

While There Is Much Too Fear From The Last Days-There Is Also Much To Hope In!

“ And at that time shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was a nation even to that same time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be found written in the book.”-Daniel 12:1 KJV

Much has been written about the Last Days. But even in the passages that strike great fear in even the most faithful, there are passages of hope.

Such is the case in Daniel 12:1. We are the “children of the people” that this passage talks about. Archangel Michael comes to “stand for us”, to protect to us. Sent by God Himself because He loves us. Clearly there will be times of great trouble, but our Lord will not forget His people-nor their faith in Him.

And we will “be delivered”, for those who have truly accepted Jesus as their Savior WILL be “written in the book”. So hang in there!

Prayers will still be heard and answered. And God will still love us. And we will go to Heaven. Even in the Last Days.

A Warning For All!

From https://www.bible-studys.org/Bible%20Books/Amos/Amos%20Chapter%204.html:

“Verses 6-11: Past warnings were futile, a fact repeatedly emphasized by “Yet you have not returned to Me” (verses 6, 8-11).

Before confronting sinners in final judgment, God has often used drastic measures, in this case, famine (4:6), drought (4:7-8), the devastation of crops (4:9), plague (4:10, and warfare (4:10); in an effort to get people’s attention and bring them to repentance. Still, Israel would not return to Him. Every person must “prepare to meet … God”, either as loving father or as divine Judge (Heb. 10:31; Rev. 20:15).”

We love messages of God’s Mercy, and this, believe it or not, is a Great Mercy. Because God loves us, He warns us. We must turn back to Him or face the consequences…

For a list of some of God’s previous warnings, read Amos 4. Although this happened in the Old Testament, that does not mean it will not happen today.

While we can’t control what others choose, we can control what we choose.

“And as for me and my house-we will serve the Lord. I hope you to choose to do so too ?

May Revival Start With Me!

We all, no matter how faithful, have room to grow. Whether there is a sin we need to rid ourselves of, or that we just need to grow in our love for our Lord and all of His people-there’s always room to grow in our faith.

I heard an interesting thing once, “if we expect others to believe what we believe, than we best believe it ourselves”! It makes one think…

If we truly believe that Heaven awaits only those who accept Jesus as their Savior, than we must share that knowledge with others. If we truly believe that there is one God, and only one God, that can protect us, than we must share that as well! And if we truly believe that the Holy Spirit has come to be our Comforter and Friend, than if we love others, we need to share that!

Because if we truly believe all of that, and if we truly believe the only way to Heaven is through faith in Jesus Christ, than we don’t want to leave anyone behind 🙂

As for Revival, we must pray that it starts with each of us. Let us love God and all God’s people with our whole heart and soul. May the Holy Spirit fill our hearts with that love and the courage to share it, for we were born for such a time as this.