Am I "worthy to escape these things?"

"Watch therefore, and pray always that you may be counted worthy to escape all these things that will come to pass, and to stand before the Son of Man.” —Luke 21:36

Will I be counted worthy?

What makes me worthy? Is it my works? Is it my being 100% sure that I have forgiven everyone so that I may be completely forgiven? Is it being sure I've left nothing undone and that I've kept my life spotlessly pure? If so, I am in trouble and so are you.

Here's what (Who) makes us worthy:

"For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved."—John 3:16-17

"And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent." —John 17:3

"These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God." —John 5:13

Here's what (Who) assures us that we have been made worthy:

"In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory." —Ephesians 1:13-14

The Perfecter of our faith is the One who keeps us and assures us, that by His stripes we are healed, by His finished work at Calvary and our acceptance of His work and righteousness we are made whole and counted worthy.

I need reminding of this.

When I begin to doubt if my salvation is secure
And wondering how much more this life that I can endure,
I'm reminded of the time I gave this life of mine to Him
And the memories of all He's done come rushing back in.

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M A R A N A T H A . . . Come Lord Jesus!

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11.11.11 - Global Day of Prayer

Jesus Christ the only way. True or false?

Tolerance and interfaith dialogue sounds so good and right. We should respect one another regardless of faith, sex or color, but for the believer in Christ there is a danger when such tolerance and respect turns to compromise. The belief that Jesus Christ is the only way, truth, life, and only way to the Father, cannot mingle with contrary beliefs. We cannot believe that Jesus is the only way while at the same time believe all "religious paths" are okay. All roads to not lead to God.

The Good News of Jesus Christ is more than the "Golden Rule." It is more than just loving our neighbor as our self. "For it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes..."

Jesus Christ is not a set of religious principals to practice, but is the incarnate God who became a man "that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life." The Apostle Paul said to the Corinthians:

“Do not be unequally yoked together with unbelievers. For what fellowship has righteousness with lawlessness? And what communion has light with darkness? And what accord has Christ with Belial? Or what part has a believer with an unbeliever? And what agreement has the temple of God with idols? For you are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will dwell in them And walk among them. I will be their God, And they shall be My people.”

Therefore “Come out from among them And be separate, says the Lord. Do not touch what is unclean, And I will receive you.” I will be a Father to you, And you shall be My sons and daughters, Says the LORD Almighty.”

Apostasy (for Christians - the falling away from truth of the Gospel) is part of the evidence that we are in fact living in the very last days. Jesus is coming soon. Do you know Him?

"And I heard another voice from heaven saying, “Come out of her, my people, lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues." —Revelation 18:4

"Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God." —James 4:4

False Prophets and True Prophecy

False prophet Harold Camping proves once again his falseness. This is about the 12th time during his "ministry" that his prophecies regarding the rapture and the end of the world have not come to pass. 



Camping has led many astray, but the greater evil that this man has done is in denigrating the truth of scripture that speaks of the Lord's return and the coming time called the Tribulation. Now anyone seeing the reality of these most precarious and perilous times we are living, and desiring to share with others, is most likely ridiculed and lumped with the likes of characters like Camping.



How many more earthquakes and volcanic rumblings do we need to believe that seismic activity has been greatly ramping up in "diverse places" and the increase of civil unrest, with "nation against nation" is on the rise, to convince us that are indeed in these last days as Jesus Himself told us about?

Jesus remains The Way, The Truth, and The Life... the only way to the Father and eternal life.

Who do you say He is?

What about this Jesus Christ?

Who do you say he is? I mean, really. You may say you are a Christian, because after all, you're not a Hindu or Muslim or Jew. You may go to church and even be very involved in the practices and traditions, programs and committees and even ascribe to the doctrines and creeds of the faith. But what do you really believe in regards to this person Jesus Christ?

Is he just a good human teacher? Do you see him as one who just left us some good principals to try to follow? As C.S. Lewis said that He did not leave that for interpretation, but made it clear to his being the very Son of God* and the audacious claim that He is the only way, truth and life and that no man can come to the Father except through Him.

Maybe you believe that He truly is the Son of God, but do you believe as in the biblical definition of belief?

The Amplified Bible version brings clarity:

“For God so greatly loved and dearly prized the world that He [even] gave up His only begotten (unique) Son, so that whoever believes in (trusts in, clings to, relies on) Him shall not perish (come to destruction, be lost) but have eternal (everlasting) life.” -John 3:16

A general belief in Christ, as in one believes that He did exist, is not the same as believing in Him.

“You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” -James 2:19

This is the most important question you and I will ever answer in our lives.

So who do YOU say He is?

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* "I am trying here to prevent anyone saying the really foolish thing that people often say about Him: 'I'm ready to accept Jesus as a great moral teacher, but I don't accept His claim to be God.' That is the one thing we must not say. A man who was merely a man and said the sort of things Jesus said would not be a great moral teacher. He would either be a lunatic -- on the level with the man who says he is a poached egg -- or else he would be the Devil of Hell. You must make your choice. Either this man was, and is, the Son of God: or else a madman or something worse. You can shut Him up for a fool, you can spit at Him and kill Him as a demon; or you can fall at His feet and call Him Lord and God. But let us not come with any patronizing nonsense about His being a great human teacher. He has not left that open to us. He did not intend to." – C.S. Lewis, Mere Christianity

Worth repeating: NOW LEARN THIS LESSON from the fig tree...

I wrote the below 2 1/2 years ago and had it posted on my blog. I feel it bears worth repeating because I believe that the message is more urgent than ever. You can write me off as a fanatic, misinformed, lunatic Christian, but I remain just a fool for Christ and I am praying for my friends and family to take heed. I believe things on planet Earth are ramping up quickly. I urge you to pay attention to the times. Bible prophecy is being fulfilled on a regular basis now. Wars are on the increase, world economies are tanking, earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other natural disasters are on the rise as well as new diseases. And one of the greatest tell-tale signs is what is rising in the middle east. The Arab world is coming apart... nation coming against nation, civil unrest, and Israel's enemies want Israel annihilated. All these things have been Biblically foretold eons ago.

If you don't know the Lord Jesus Christ then please, get to know Him. He remains to be the only Way, Truth and Life. If you say you are a Christian, then look into these things with an open heart and mind.

May God give you eyes to see and ears to hear.

Much love to all.

Dave

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NOW LEARN THIS LESSON from the fig tree...

"As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near. Even so, when you see all these things, you know that it is near, right at the door. I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened. Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away." —MATTHEW 24:32-35

"While He was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples approached Him privately and said, "Tell us, when will these things happen? And what is the sign of Your coming and of the end of the age?" Then Jesus replied to them: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am the Messiah,' and they will deceive many. You are going to hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not alarmed, because these things must take place, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise up against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these events are the beginning of birth pains." —MATTHEW 24:3-8

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No, no date setting here. We are told that we cannot know the day or the hour but the season is something different. Jesus told us to be watchful. To look and listen to the times.

Back in the 70's and 80's prophecy and end times discussions were all the buzz in Christian circles. The Lord used Hal Lindsey's "Late Great Planet Earth" to draw me to Him. I was fascinated with that book and became very interested in eschatology (the study of the end times, "last things") . The year 2000 and the infamous Y2K came around, I prepared for the worst, then nothing happened. So my eschatology got put on a shelf. I swore to myself that I'd never get hyped up about end times thinking again. Well now I can't help myself. It's all just too obvious to me where things are headed.

[ Added note - July 27, 2011 - Harold Camping came along and said the rapture of the Church would happen back on May 21st, and of course it didn't happen. The only thing that did happen was that the world once again laughed at Christians. Jesus said that no man knows the hour of His return, but to pay attention to the signs of the times. We can recognize the closeness of end times by those things that have been prophesied coming to pass. I believe we are well into those "birth pangs" that Jesus spoke of. ]

Today prophecy is being fulfilled in front of our eyes. One just has to read and watch the mainstream news to see the signs. Global economic chaos, increasing tensions in the middle east, more and more threats of severe storms, earthquakes and signs in the heavens, and growing apostasy. The leaders of the world are all looking for a man to save us and are calling for a unified economic system, a one world government. This isn't fodder from some conspiracy website but it is in fact disclosed in the daily news. Meanwhile it seems that the Church is asleep at the wheel.

Where is the Body of Christ? Where is it's focus? Are we more occupied with church growth and ministries to please every pew sitting individual? Are we looking up? Are we hungering for the Lord and for His promised imminent return? The Church used to be, before it entered into the Laodicean mode.

"Peace and safety" is the mantra people are hungering for but there will not be peace until the Son of Man returns to set all things right. And if the Church doesn't wake up it will be looking for that wrong man as well. "Then He said, "Watch out that you are not deceived. "For many will come in My name, saying, 'I am He,' and, 'The time is near.' Don't follow them."" —LUKE 21:8

[ I said before: ] No man knows the hour. The fig tree may be dormant now but summer will come and its leaves will soon appear. [ The fig tree is getting riper by the minute. ]

I'm ready to go Home. How about you?

"Even so, come Lord Jesus!"

ARE YOU GROANING?

From Romans 8:

I believe that the present suffering is nothing compared to the coming glory that is going to be revealed to us. The whole creation waits breathless with anticipation for the revelation of God’s sons and daughters. Creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice—it was the choice of the one who subjected it—but in the hope that the creation itself will be set free from slavery to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of God’s children.

We know that the whole creation is groaning together and suffering labor pains up until now. And it’s not only the creation. We ourselves who have the Spirit as the first crop of the harvest also groan inside as we wait to be adopted and for our bodies to be set free. We were saved in hope. If we see what we hope for, that isn’t hope. Who hopes for what they already see? But if we hope for what we don’t see, we wait for it with patience.

. . . . . . . . . . . .

Are you tired, weary, heavy laden, looking, seeking, desiring rest?

Christian, are you tired of this world and growing in hope and desiring for the Lord's return?

Are you groaning?!

I am.

To those who have been of the mindset, that the purpose of the believer in Jesus here on earth, is to fix the earth, sweep it of sin, elect the "right" officials to make a "pure" society for Jesus to usher in His kingdom, I say... How's that been working for you?

This world is dying quickly my friends. It too is groaning for the Lord. All of Creation groans for His return to finally make all things right. That's been His job from the get-go. And He promised that He would from the beginning, since Man's fall. It hasn't been our job to fix the earth or fix people by forcing society, using our wit and wisdom to make it "Christian."

Are we tired enough of this place yet?

I am by no means being a pessimist, or worse a fatalist. No, not at all. I am simply recognizing the fact that a greater reality awaits the believer in Christ. And while we spend so much time trying to fix this planet and it's unsaved inhabitants, we miss this reality.

So what then - do we just not care about others, about things? No, I mean we take time to assess ourselves and seek the Lord to readjust our focus. Are we so fixated on our present circumstances that we are missing His bigger picture? There is an immense picture being broadened right in front of us, but many are asleep to it. The signs of the times of prophecies past have been screaming at us to pay attention.

This is not a call to fret or worry, but simply a call to seek Him with all our hearts... to lay down our differences in the Body of Christ, between brother and brother, sister and sister. Get away from the noise of the daily grinding wheel, the rat race hamster wheel, and quiet yourselves before Him. It's time we ask Him for directions without our own agendas getting in the way.

Let's be quiet for Him and listen, really listen to what He is saying.

More to come. More to say. As He allows.

Peace

In case we forgot... in case you don't know...

Ladies and gentlemen... There is a lot of noise in the world. It's been there since the beginning. So in case we forgot... Jesus remains the ONLY Truth, the ONLY Light, and the ONLY Way. Knowing Him, walking with Him, having a relationship with Him is infinitely more real than knowing a religion. It cannot be compared to anything else. For the believer - in Him is who we are. We identify with nothing else and with no one else - so purely, so perfectly.

John 1:1-18 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

IN THE BEGINNING WAS THE WORD, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend.

There was a man sent from God, whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the true Light which gives light to every man coming into the world.

He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.

And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me.’” And of His fullness we have all received, and grace for grace. For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ. No one has seen God at any time. The only begotten Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him.

REALITY CHECK, PLEASE!

Our society, our culture, is full of enough "truth distractions" to numb us 'til the end of time. It is a pervasiveness by many whose desire is to keep us in slumberville.

In the words of the old classic rock band, Buffalo Springfield, "Something's happening here, what it is ain't exactly clear." Yet the noise grows, the earth rumbles and shakes. And in the midst of it all Someone would like our attention.

Now, more than ever, there is such a dire need to get quiet, away from the noise. Listen. Look up. Look around. Take a long, hard look. Ponder. Question. Challenge. Ask what you really believe and don't believe.

Stop allowing someone else' beliefs to be simply yours. Discover truth for yourself. There is a plethora of people following people and looking for the next "big thing" or the next celebrity to follow.

Look around. Listen. It's getting noisier day by day. What they're calling news is getting old.

But Someone desires your attention. Someone who knows your name, knows everything about you, the good and the bad, and loves you more than you could ever imagine. He has the answers and He alone is the Way, the Truth and the Life.

But don't take my word for it. Get quiet and ask if Someone is listening. Someone is and Jesus would love to talk with you.

Life is shorter than we think. And it's too short to waste on noise.

"He who testifies to these things says, 'Surely I am coming quickly.' Amen! Even so, come, Lord Jesus! The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen!" —Revelation 22:20-21