The King is coming!!

 You read that right...Jesus is coming!! 

No, I'm not date setting. I'm not pointing to the bearded preacher on the street corner and proclaiming him Jesus. 

But...I'm declaring that Jesus IS coming back and based on Biblical signs, we can surmise that the time of His return is soon. I know, I know, people have been saying that for centuries, generations, eons. And that's why so many people have turned a blind eye and a deaf ear to preachers who dare to preach on the coming of the Lord. They roll their eyes when a friend or family member mentions that Jesus is returning soon. We've become numb to the urgency....like people who live in the south when there's a tornado warning. We all KNOW it could be serious but there've been so many that have resulted in nothing, that now days we see that warning pop up on our phone screens and we go sit on the porch and wait or go back to whatever it was we were doing before the warning came. 

No other time in our world's history have all the requirements been so readily available to see these prophecies fulfilled. For example, 100 years ago, the return of Jesus would not have been able to be viewed around the world in real time, as it happened. Today, however, with the internet and satellites and a cell phone in practically every hand, His return could absolutely be viewed live from every corner of the world. 

Revelation 1:7 says Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the tribes of the earth will wail on account of him. Even so, amen. 

Isaiah 40:5 says And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.

EVERY EYE will see Him. ALL people TOGETHER. 

How would that have been possible even 30 years ago? 

Jesus Himself gave us the signs to watch for. Wars and rumors of wars- rumors that could not have been as easy to spread as they are now days in the age of Social Media. Famines, Earthquakes, false prophets and messiahs, persecution of the church- something we are seeing with increasing frequency and brutality around the world- and worldwide gospel preaching- we are seeing people coming to Jesus in nations around the world where preaching the Gospel is illegal. The Word of God will not be stopped! 

And neither will Jesus' return. He IS coming back and I believe His return is imminent. 

All that to say....are you ready? No matter when He returns, the fact is, He will return and even if He doesn't return in your lifetime, are you ready? Is your soul prepared? Is your name written in the Book of Life? Have you given your heart to Him? Have you accepted His gift of Salvation? 

Yes? Fantastic! Now...go live for Him!

No? What are you waiting for? Find someone who can show you to the foot of the cross and lead you to Jesus. If you don't have someone in your life, find a local Bible preaching church and find someone who will introduce you to the Lord who loves you more than life itself. 

The Lord who will return soon! 

Take Up Your Cross

 It's been too long since I've been here but the Lord spoke to me today and I needed to get my thoughts out in words. What better place to express those words than here where they might do some good? 

What is sin? 

Anything we do, say, or think that is dishonoring or displeasing to God. 

Who are sinners? 

EVERY SINGLE ONE OF US!!   Romans 3:23 says "For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." 

Ecclesiastes 7:20 says "Indeed, there is no one on earth who is righteous, no one who does what is right and never sins."

1 John 1:8 says "If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us." 

Jesus is the ONLY human being who ever lived without sin. Everything He did, said, and thought was a reflection of the God He served. He came to this planet to show us how to live, how to seek the will of God in all we do. But He came to this earth knowing that we were wicked sinful people. He didn't wait until we cleaned up our act. He didn't expect us to be perfect or good before He offered Himself as a sacrifice for us. 

Romans 5:8 says "But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while WE WERE STILL SINNERS, Christ died for us." 

He knows we have sin natures and cannot be perfect. That sin nature is part of the gift of free will that He gave us at the moment of creation. God doesn't want to be loved by robots who have no choice. He wants a relationship with people who love Him freely, by choice. Forced 'love' isn't love at all, it's slavery. 

So, realizing these things- that we are all sinners, and that Jesus died for us while we were still sinners, what's the point of all this? 

Knowing that Jesus demonstrated a life of righteousness for us, we are called to do the same, as much as we possibly can. Jesus sacrificed for us and He calls us to sacrifice too. 

Matthew 16:24-26 says "Then Jesus said to His disciples, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself and take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul." 

To take up your cross and follow Jesus, means to sacrifice things in your life that displease God. "Deny yourself." We must identify the things in our lives- habits, addictions, feelings, desires, etc,- that we know, by reading the Word and having a relationship with God and the Holy Spirit, displease God, that dishonor Him. 

Over Eating or over indulgence

Addictions to substances like alcohol and drugs

Sexual sins 

Gossip

Lying

Uncontrolled Anger

Idolatry- Putting ANYTHING before God. 

There are so many things in our lives that dishonor God, things we enjoy so we're reluctant to address or let go of. Things we may not realize are sinful, but upon studying God's Word, we discover that they are, and once we know it, we are called to give up those things, sacrifice our own desires and wants, in order to follow Jesus and do the will of the Father. 

Is it easy? 

NO! Sacrifice is never easy. It's difficult and that's why it's a sacrifice. Was it easy for Jesus to die on the cross for us? No! He prayed to God, the Father, to take the cup from Him, if it was His will...but if not, then God's will be done. Jesus was under such stress over His impending death that He was sweating blood! But He submitted to the will of God, His Father, to do what was required to save mankind from eternal damnation. 

He sacrificed. 

He calls us to take up our cross and DENY OURSELVES to follow Him. We are to deny our own will, the things we do in our lives that displease God. 

I'm writing this as much for myself as for anyone...I over eat, I abuse my temple (my body) by not ensuring that it's being maintained and healthy. I gossip. I lie. I lose my temper WAY too often. I put things above God...things like my phone, games, crafts, food...things I do instead of spending time with God. 

I MUST deny myself and put Him first. I must take up my cross and sacrifice.