when

September 15, 2016

People Get Ready!

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42 “So you, too, must keep watch! For you don’t know what day your Lord is coming. — Matthew 24:42 NLT

Matt. 24:42-51 NLT

Trying to figure out what day Jesus is coming back is futile.  He didn’t come back yesterday and so far, He hasn’t come back today.  There are three things that we can know for sure.  Yesterday is gone, tomorrow is not promised but we have this very moment.  When Moses asked God, “Who shall I say sent me?”  God said “I AM”.  Not “I was” or not “I will be” but simply “I AM”.  When God says “I AM”, our response should be a simple “YOU ARE”.   When we reach that point of understanding that “HE IS” means that He is everything we need then and only then will we start to understand that “when He is coming back” should be of little or no concern to us.  The important thing is that “HE IS” and He is coming back. Our concern is “to be” ready.  God did not call us “human doers”, He called us “human beings” because He wanted us to understand that “being” is more important than doing.  What we do, our external actions, are only a small part of who we are.  Our words and our actions are a result of how we have spent our time up until now.  Do they show that we have spent our time being in His presence?  If so, we will be ready when He comes back.  

22 If anyone does not love the Lord, that person is cursed.

Our Lord, come!

23 May the grace of the Lord Jesus be with you.

24 My love to all of you in Christ Jesus.

— 1 Cor. 16:22-24 NLT
Post 09-15-2016
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March 4, 2016

Remember. Rest. Repeat!!

even-smaller-bug-light17 For the Lord your God has blessed you in everything you have done. He has watched your every step through this great wilderness. During these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”’ — Deuteronomy 2:7 NLT

If you have ever taken a road trip with your kids then you have heard the question, “when will we get there?” or “how much longer?”.  One Mother’s answer was “Your Father is in charge, he will take care of us and we will arrive safely.  We can just enjoy the trip.”  That is a lesson that the Israelis never seem to learn.  Their stubbornness and refusal to learn it changed a trip that should have taken only eleven days into an adventure that lasted over forty years.  Because of their attitude, we read in Hebrews, that the original generation of Israelis never entered the rest that God had prepared for them.  Instead of enjoying the trip, the Israelis continually moaned, groaned and whined.  How many days have we wasted whining when we could have just relaxed and enjoyed the trip?  How many more days will we waste moaning and groaning because, like the Israelis, we don’t trust our Father to provide for us and bring us safely home?  Moses told the children of Israel “during these forty years, the Lord your God has been with you, and you have lacked nothing.”  They wanted a lot of things they ddin’t have, but they had everything they needed to make the journey.  The Lord our God is still with us and we lack nothing that we need.  If we could ever learn to rest and enjoy the trip, it would not matter when we got there because each day would be a new experience enjoying the presence of the Lord.  Remember that God is our provider and our shield, rest in His presence and repeat as often as necessary.
 
6 So God’s rest is there for people to enter, but those who first heard this good news failed to enter because they disobeyed God. 7 So God set another time for entering his rest, and that time is today. — Hebrews 4:6, 7a NLT
Post 03-04-2016
February 23, 2016

Is When Important?

even-smaller-bug-light13 Later, Jesus sat on the Mount of Olives. His disciples came to him privately and said, “Tell us, when will all this happen? What sign will signal your return and the end of the world? — Matt. 24:3 NLT

Ever since Jesus ascended into heaven with His promise of returning, people have asked the question — When?  The disciples had even questioned Jesus about this before His death and resurrection.  Is when important and if so, why is it important?  If we knew for sure Jesus was coming back at the end of this month, would it make a difference? Would it cause us to be more diligent in witnessing to our family, friends and neighbors?  Would we be more committed to living a Holy lifestyle?  Would it change our priorities?  Would we gather our families around us and hold on to them tightly?  Would we mourn or rejoice?  Would we say. “even so, Lord, come quickly” or would we ask Him for a few more days to be sure our families were all saved?  If we are truly honest with ourselves, would it really make any difference?  If it would, then why doesn’t it make a difference even now?   Only the Father knows when Jesus will return and only the Father knows when each of us will leave here.  Since we don’t know either of these times, doesn’t it make sense to assume that it is today and live our lives accordingly?  Shouldn’t we live each day seeking first the Kingdom of God and trust God to take care of the rest?  If we could get to that point, then peace would overflow our hearts and life here on earth would be  “joy unspeakable and full of glory”!  Then “when” would become unimportant.

8 You love him even though you have never seen him. Though you do not see him now, you trust him; and you rejoice with a glorious, inexpressible joy. 9 The reward for trusting him will be the salvation of your souls. — 1 Peter 1:8, 9 NKJV
Post 02-23-2016
November 16, 2013

Work for a Bountiful Harvest

God is waiting to show you the way.

God is waiting to show you the way.

9 That night Paul had a vision: A man from Macedonia in northern Greece was standing there, pleading with him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us!” 10 So we decided to leave for Macedonia at once, having concluded that God was calling us to preach the Good News there. 11 We boarded a boat at Troas and sailed straight across to the island of Samothrace, and the next day we landed at Neapolis. 12 From there we reached Philippi, a major city of that district of Macedonia and a Roman colony. And we stayed there several days. Acts 16:9-12 (NLT)
In earlier verses, Paul had wanted to go into the province of Asia and preach the Gospel. It doesn’t seem like there would be anything wrong with that, but God had other plans for Paul. This is a good example of how God works. He has a specific plan for each of us. That plan includes the what, the when, and the where. He has prepared certain hearts to hear and respond to His word. That word must be spoken at the exact time and place He has prepared. As we are told in the Psalms 127:1 Unless the Lord builds a house, the work of the builders is wasted. Unless the Lord protects a city, guarding it with sentries will do no good Unless, we follow God’s plan, our work is in vain. Yes, God will honor it because His Word does not return void, but it won’t produce the harvest He had intended for you to produce. Complete obedience is the difference in 30 fold, 60 fold, or 100 fold.
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