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“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. ¹⁴ But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it.” – Matthew 7: 13-14

There is a reason that Jesus tells us about the “Narrow Gate”.  And the closer we come to His Return, the more “narrow” it will be come.  So we need to be sure we stay on it!

First of all, what does apostasy look like in our world?

Merriam -Webster lists one definition as the “abandonment of previous loyalty”.    Yourdictionary defines it as the “straying from one’s religious beliefs”.  Both are true, especially in today’s world.

In the Bible it says:

“apostasy consists in an unbelieving and self-willed movement away from God”-Hebrews 3:12

“But the Spirit explicitly says that in later times some will fall away from the faith, paying attention to deceitful spirits and doctrines of demons. “- 1 Timothy 4:1

And yet, how many do we see people “reinterpreting” God’s Word so it fits their life style?  As a world, we have traveled from a Christ-centered life style to a self-centered life style.  We care, as a world, far more about material goods and posessions than we do about “storing up our Treasures in Heaven”.  And we, as a nation, seem to care far more about what other people think of us and not nearly enough about what God thinks of us.

Apostasy is also why so many think that we get to make the “rules” instead of the God who created us and created the world in which we live.  God created and gave us all that we have; His power is without question.

There is only One truth-God’s.  If we wish to enter Heaven, we need to stick with God’s Truth, which if we Follow Jesus-the Holy Spirit can help us see!

With Christ’s Help, we can forgive anything, because we have been forgiven everything. Amen 🙂 !

Saw two suns in the rear view mirror Thursday, October 28, 2021. On the rearview mirror it says, “objects in the rearview mirror are closer than they appear.”

Are End Times closer than they appear? No one but the Father knows for sure when Jesus will return, but Jesus did tell us what signs to look for:

Matthew 24

Follow Jesus. Watch, Prepare and Pray. Be Ready 🙂

“Every cloud has a silver lining means that you should never feel hopeless because difficult times always lead to better days. Difficult times are like dark clouds that pass overhead and block the sun.”

But how does this relate to our Lord?  When tough times come, and they can be very tough, they bring us closer to God.  Perhaps because we are reminded just how much we need Him ?.  We tend to talk to our Lord more; ask for help more; and grow in our acceptance of His Will.  And because we do, we also grow closer to our Lord.

“It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed.” – Deuteronomy 31:8

When times are good, there is a human tendency to become to “busy” for prayer time and time spent with our Lord.  But even though God misses us, because He loves us, He wants us to have good times!

The truth is, as human beings, we need both.  Good times give us not just good times for today, but hope that there will be good times tomorrow.  Tough times remind us to turn to God and spend time with Him ?.  Tough times bring us closer to God. 

For God is the silver lining in the cloud in which we may live for a time.  Hang on to Him and He will pull you through ?

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In sharing yesterday, we talked about God’s willingness to bring us to Heaven –even if we accept Jesus at the last minute. For some, that will prompt the question, “why not wait until the last minute”?

For one thing, we don’t exactly know when the last minute is. What if we die in a car accident? An illness? At war?

For another, if we wait until the last minute, we will never know the joy of introducing someone to Jesus 🙂

For me personally, I can’t even begin to share with you how many times Jesus has helped me and comforted me. How many times and how much the Holy Spirit has lifted me up. How often God has eased my heart and rescued me from challenges above my abilities.

And I can’t even begin to share with you how many times God has lifted me up and out of suffering beyond my ability to endure. Or how our Lord has put people in my life to teach me, to befriend me, to love me :).

I would never want to wait until the end of my life to Follow Jesus, because Following Jesus has made my life so much easier and so filled with Joy and Peace.

And in a world where promises are often broken, God is a Promise Keeper. He will never let us down!

Don’t wait. Don’t miss what God has for you :). Receive the Love, Joy & Peace that comes from Following Jesus today!

“Arise, shine; for thy light is come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee. For, behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, and gross darkness the people: but the Lord shall arise upon thee, and his glory shall be seen upon thee.  And the Gentiles shall come to thy light, and kings to the brightness of thy rising.” – Isaiah 60: 1-3

People interpret Isaiah 60 so many different ways.  And perhaps God intends that.  I know that I will read a Bible verse with the help of the Holy Spirit, and gain an understanding in one way and on a different day read the same verse and obtain a new, deeper understanding of the same verse.  That is why it is so very important to ask the Holy Spirit to Help us Read the Bible.

So who is thee?  It’s you.  It’s the “church” ?

There is no doubt that “darkness shall cover the earth”.  (“Gross darkness” simply means:  very dark).  But the Lord will “rise” “upon thee”.  And Christ’s Light will shine upon the “church” so brightly that people from far away will see “the Light” and Follow Jesus ?

Picture a candle in the dark.  The light of the candle appears so very bright because it is such a wonderful contrast to the dark.  The same will be true in the coming days.  Those who truly believe in and follow Jesus will be filled with the Holy Spirit.  God’s Light will shine so powerfully; it will attract other believers and non-believers alike.  Other believers will be encouraged and non-believers will come to faith in Jesus.

There will always be some who reject the Light, for evil hates the Light, it always has.  But it matters not for us.  God’s Light will spread and defeat the darkness.  For “With God, All Things Are Possible” – Matthew 19:26 ?

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some men count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance.”- 2 Peter 3:9

A Pastor from Ohio gave a wonderful sermon on the love of God for His People.  He talked of how our Father gives us our whole life, every second, to make the right choice:  Jesus Christ.  Some of us may know, love and serve Jesus from a very young age.  Some of us may choose Jesus at a very old age, at the very last second.  We may even choose Jesus right before we die  But we both go to Heaven.  Because our Father loves us so.  Although one note of caution:  We may die younger than age 90, so we may not want to wait, lol ?

But as Merciful as God is, He is also Just.  After all, if God were not Just as well as Merciful, who would follow Him?  The Gospel Coalition had a good definition of the Wrath of God:  “the Holy action of retributive justice towards persons whose actions deserve eternal condemnation”.

As human beings, we don’t like to think of God’s Justice or Wrath.  We would rather focus on God’s Love and Mercy, but to do so exclusively is to put ourselves, and those we love, at risk.  God’s Justice and Wrath is a real as His Love and Mercy.  For our own sake and for the sake of those we love, we need to focus on both. 

There are people, who despite God’s generosity, will refuse to ever Follow Jesus.  There are also people, who will refuse to follow the Roadmap that God has given us for our lives, the Holy Bible.  But there are consequences for those choices, as their should be.  And that is where God’s Justice and Wrath comes in.  We see it in the Old Testament; we see it in Revelations; we see it throughout the Bible.  The Wrath of God will come for those who reject Jesus Christ.  And whether people choose to believe this Truth matters not, because God’s Wrath will come.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” – John 3:36

Choose wisely…

From Worth Devotionals:

“My Friends, have the heart of a lion!

Proverbs 28:1 The wicked flee when no one pursues, but the righteous are bold as a lion.

There’s an old adage, “Have the heart of a lion!” Hearing it, we think, “courage”. This recalls a quote I once heard; “Courage is contagious. When a brave man takes a stand, the spines of others are often stiffened”. I doubt there’s a single hero story in which the fearless leader fails to inspire the righteous determination of his army or people. The voice of the captain resounds through the ranks evoking the fierce cry of every warrior ready to face death or worse, for the cause. Courage truly is contagious.

Of course, so is fear. And no matter how great or small our sphere, we are all, each and every one of us, people of influence. If, individually, I stand and face every fear with the boldness of a lion, I cannot fail to embolden others to stand courageously with me.

But true courage will depend on righteousness; and those who are righteous live by faith; and faith comes by hearing, and hearing, through the word of Christ, that is, Divine revelation. So, real lion-like courage will come direct, by faith, from the Lion of Judah, Yeshua our Lord.

My Friends, live by faith, be righteous in Messiah, and you may be the lion that leads, inspiring a pack that follows! Courage is infectious… spread it far and wide!”

Your family in the Lord with much agape love,

George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah
Palm Beach, Florida

Personal Note: I have been starting my day with Worthy Briefs and Devotionals for almost 20 years. They really do help start my day on the right track-with God 🙂

You can sign up for Worthy Devotionals here: Worthy Network