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January 19, 2020

“Following Their Own Desires”

3 Most importantly, I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires.– 2 Peter 3:1-4 NLT

2 Peter 3:1-4 NLT

We are to be in the world, but “not of this world”. While it is true that we need to be cognizant of the things going on around us everyday, we should not allow those things to weight us down. With all the bad news we are subjected to everyday, how do we avoid negative thinking? We do what Peter suggested here, we refresh our memories of all of God’s promises and how He has never failed or gone back on His word. When satan tempted Jesus, Jesus rebuked him with the Word of God. We must be so grounded in the Word, that we do the same thing. We must remember that even Jesus said He did not know when the end would come.

32 “However, no one knows the day or hour when these things will happen, not even the angels in heaven or the Son himself. Only the Father knows. 33 And since you don’t know when that time will come, be on guard! Stay alert!—Mark 13:32,33 (NLT)

Yes, there are those that mock and say “Oh, I have heard that for years and Jesus still hasn’t come back.” While that statement is true today, it may not be true tomorrow. We do not need to waste our time trying to figure out when Jesus will come back. We have plenty to do while we wait. We must be on guard against the wiles of the devil and we must stay alert! Do not be deceived, Jesus will come back at the appointed time. We just need to stay ready.

“The Gospel has come to you because it’s on its way to someone else.” -Anonymous

Post 01-19-2020

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August 27, 2016

What Is Not Said

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19 I have not spoken in secret,
In a dark place of the earth;
I did not say to the seed of Jacob,
‘Seek Me in vain’;
I, the Lord, speak righteousness,
I declare things that are right. — Psalm 45:19 NKJV
Isaiah 45:18-22 NKJV
Have you ever had one of those conversations or listened to a speech or a sermon and felt like something was missing?  You know, the ones where we trust the person speaking and believe that what he/she said is the truth but it still felt like we were missing something.  Sometimes the things that are not said can be as important and truthful as the things that are said.  In this verse when we put it in context we see that God is reassuring the Jews that if they seek Him, it will not be in vain.  He is using the negative to confirm that the times they found Him was when they sought Him with all of their hearts.  Before and after this, He used the positive.  Over and over, we are told of the blessings of seeking God with all of our hearts both in the Old Testament and the New Testament.  We can be assured that if we seek Him diligently, believing that we will find Him, there are blessings and rewards for doing so.
 
 6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him,for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him. —
Hebrews 11:9 NKJV
Post 08-27-2016
April 15, 2016

It’s All Around You

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20 One day the Pharisees asked Jesus, “When will the Kingdom of God come?”

Jesus replied, “The Kingdom of God can’t be detected by visible signs. 21 You won’t be able to say, ‘Here it is!’ or ‘It’s over there!’ For the Kingdom of God is already among you — Luke 17:20, 21 NLT

 Luke 17:20-37

The coming of the end of time and the return of Jesus are discussions that take up a lot of time and energy.  They are used positively in the fact that the hope of Christians is that this is factual and will happen.  They are used negatively by those that are non-belivers because they hear the same story over and over and it hasn’t happened in over two centuries.  There is much discussion among believers because we can’t agree on the meaning of what is written in the Book of The Revelation.  Jesus tells us that only the Father knows the day and the hour when Jesus will return. Mark 13:32-37   Knowing that we can’t really know the time when Jesus will return, let us be concerned about the things we can and do know.  Jesus tell us here that “the Kingdom of God is already among you” and in Hebrews, we are told that we have come to Mount Zion and are receiving an unshakable Kingdom. Both of these verbs are present and future.   Hebrews 12:18-28 

We have the Kingdom of God dwelling in us because the Holy Spirit abides within us.  And one day, we will receive the fullness of that Kingdom when we arrive in heaven.  Our concern needs to be on obedience to God so that we make it to heaven and to bring as many others with us as we can.  Our purpose on earth is to glorify God by witnessing for Him now.  He will take care of the “later”.
Post 04-15-2016