The following article hit the nail on the head for me and for those who believe, those who are watching, without a shadow of a doubt, that we are in the very last of the last days of planet Earth as we know it.

Look around. Open your eyes. Do you really think that all that is happening in the world — between natural disasters, economic collapse and world wars rapidly building up — is normal ? ? ?

Scoff if you must. Joke about it. Pretend that this stuff always happens and it's all just going to get better.

Please... now is the time to check your spiritual pulse. Are you sensitive to what God may be trying to tell you? Or are you numbed by what the world keeps tossing at you?

Many of you know me personally. Some may be surprised by the boldness I share on Facebook, but not in person. For that I am ashamed. If you really knew me you'd know that my greatest love in the world is Jesus Christ. He is the only way out of this rapidly decaying and dying world. He began His ministry 2000 years ago as the Way, the Truth and the Life and the only way to the Father — and He remains so.

Place your trust in Him. He is the way of salvation. And today is the day of salvation for you. How will you respond? Will you just scoff all this off as some lunatic friend who's crying wolf? Or will you open your heart and believe in the only One who can bring everlasting peace and eternal life to you?

"For He says:

'In an acceptable time I have heard you,
And in the day of salvation I have helped you.'

Behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation." — 2 Corinthians 6:2

• • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • •

CRYING WOLF? — by Tim Cameron

"When I was a kid, like many people I heard the story of the little boy who cried wolf. The moral of the story was to instruct us to only "cry wolf" when there really is a wolf, otherwise people will turn a deaf ear!

To many in the Church, the message of Jesus Soon Return has been relegated to "crying wolf" It's a 2,000 year old message and many have heard it all their lives and have put it in a category of non relevant at a time it's becoming most relevant.

2 Peter 3:3 knowing this first: that scoffers will come in the last days, walking according to their own lusts, 4 and saying, “Where is the promise of His coming? For since the fathers fell asleep, all things continue as they were from the beginning of creation.” 5 For this they willfully forget: that by the word of God the heavens were of old, and the earth standing out of water and in the water, 6 by which the world that then existed perished, being flooded with water. 7 But the heavens and the earth which are now preserved by the same word, are reserved for fire until the day of judgment and perdition of ungodly men.

SCOFFERS are SCOFFING

In this late hour and it is late, how do we know? Because the Bible said that when we saw Israel reborn that a final countdown would have begun and that the clock for us to watch would be Israel. That there would come a time when the nations of this world would begin to align against Israel and that Jerusalem would become a burden to the world in regards to Peace. Jacob's Trouble is a time our God has mercifully warned us about and told us the state of mankind's hearts would be .."as it was in the days of Noah" "as it was in the days of Lot"

"HELLO" when have we ever saw a more volatile time globally speaking? The enemies of Israel are aligning at an alarming rate and they have made their intentions very clear..."Israel shall be no more" Hmmm or should I say Holy Moly Psalms 83 warned us that this mindset would be prominent at such a time as this Psalms 83:4 They have said, “Come, and let us cut them off from being a nation,That the name of Israel may be remembered no more.” Coincidence? Crying Wolf?

How bout our culture...has it changed in recent years? I mean there was a time people left their doors unlocked, where shows on TV were The Waltons, Little House on the Prairie, and Andy Griffith but we are not in Mayberry RFD anymore

I mean do you NOT think Paul was speaking of "this time" when He penned these words to Timothy?

2 Timothy 3:1 But know this, that in the last days perilous times will come: 2 For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, 4 traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, 5 having a form of godliness but denying its power. And from such people turn away! 6 For of this sort are those who creep into households and make captives of gullible women loaded down with sins, led away by various lusts, 7 always learning and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth.

Now, before you just say to yourself, I've heard this all before, please take a moment and stop and think about what we are talking about as Bible Believing Followers of Jesus Christ. This is a SIGN POST in time that we were told to look for.

The Apostle Paul writes Timothy a letter of description of what the world will be looking like when "it's the LAST DAYS"

LAST DAYS? Ahh man I've heard this all my life...I mean Hal Lindsey's Late Great Planet Earth is over 40 years old since it's original publication! People have been preaching Jesus is coming back forever!

True ..but that mindset is what Peter warned to watch out for when writing about now! And let me remind you, Noah preached for a hundred years of the coming wrath of God and was mocked over and over UNTIL it started to rain. And let's be honest and look back and do so in light of Daniel's "Last Days" warnings of how mankind would know time was running out, Daniel 12:4 “But you, Daniel, shut up the words, and seal the book until the time of the end; many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall increase.” In the last 40 years, has knowledge increased, has travel increase and on what type of scale in light of the last two thousand years?? Seriously stop and think! Just in light of this one passage of prophecy ..if you will be honest it should shake you awake to stop and think and then believe!

I liken it to last years family vacation. I and my wife took our 3 kids to the ocean for the first time. In the prior weeks to our "taking off" from Missouri to Destin Florida their was a lot of talk about what to expect, what to look for and what to hope for. The day finally arrived to head out on our journey and their was great anticipation but of course in a 13 + hour car ride with 3 kids their was some agonizing about "are we getting close?" "how much further" to ..."we are never gonna get there" but as soon as we hit Interstate 10 and they saw Ocean Water (a sign post) that Destin was getting closer, a growing sense of urgency and excitement began to hit us all..we were right to know ...we were close to our destination, not because of our feelings or desires but just because we were sincerely getting closer and the signs were all around us telling us that very thing!

EARS to HEAR

IF there was ever a time to be listening to what God is sharing, it's now. Today IS the day of salvation and it's time to work the harvest fields for their is coming an hour that no man can work. The beating of the clock is winding down while many Biblical Indicators are screaming out to those who would study to show themselves approved. The Prophetic Compass of God's Word says to keep an eye on Damascus and it's soon destruction prophesied by Isaiah, to pay attention to the wars and rumors of wars, to notice the shaking of the earth intensifying, the groaning of earth and sea, the violence of man's hearts growing darker and love waxing cold...are we listening? Or is it just a "Cry of Wolf" in our hearing? does the almost 16 trillion of national debt hear in America seem normal or do we realize that "the debtor is enslaved to the lender" are we shaken awake that nations of this world like Greece and Spain are going bankrupt? That an evil plan is even now being put into place to micro chip each human being for "medical purposes", people are being arrested for having a bible study in America? In our paying attention to all these things we are told to "look up and to watch and pray" Are WE? or are we tuning it all out?

DEAF EAR?

What does turning a deaf ear to the message of Jesus Soon return look like? Complacency, lethargic, lukewarm living for your best life now, self kingdom building, turning a blind eye to those who are perishing without any sense of urgency life styles.

What do you think is on the Heart of our God for His people right now? At such a time as this? That we His children would fall madly and passionately in Love with Him. Returning to first love!

We have been told by Jesus Himself in Mathew 22:37 ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ 40 On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

This is not some legalistic appeal to try and guilt a response, to put a heavy yoke of doing to earn!!

This is all about "where is our heart?"

The first thing I want us to remember is that we are told "that without faith it is impossible to please God" Noah by faith believed God and built an ark....and that is exactly what I'm about to ask you to do. It's time to build an end time structure of escape...what is that?

It's a united remnant of called out believers working in one accord to simply love the Lord by loving His Sheep, by lifting up the Only Name given unto man by which the can be saved...Jesus Christ and Him Crucified!

When Peter had failed the Lord by denying Him, Jesus came to Peter and restored him by asking him "Peter, do you love Me?" "Yes Lord I love you" "Peter, feed my sheep" Jesus asked him again, "Peter do you love me?" "Yes Lord, you know I do" "Feed my sheep" and that is exactly what Jesus is asking us during this time of when its seeming that the Church has failed Our Lord by denying Him on so many levels in our lives. Yet our high calling ..is to hear

"Well done thou faithful servant, I was naked and you clothed me, I was hungry and you fed me, I was thirty and you gave me a drink" Jesus is once again asking "Do You Love Me?"

Time is running out to do what Jesus has commissioned us to do!

LOOK at the Clock!

Israel, May 14th 1948...tick tock, missiles fired upon them almost daily, suicide bombers, nations aligning with the sole purpose to eradicate Israel and the great satan the USA. The Great Tribulation is also known as Jacob's Trouble, a time Israel will be surrounded and vexed on every side, can't we see that is even now taking shape? If We know the end of the story ...it brings great and reassuring news, but for those who are even now lost and headed towards all of eternity separated from the Love of God and doomed to an eternal hell, it's URGENT that we be about our Father's business ....spending time getting to Know Him and Making Him Known

The Little Boy cried wolf when there was no wolf, but many in the kingdom are now crying "make straight the way of the Lord" because Jesus is about to shout "come up here"and that is the The Gospel Truth!

In hearing that, does your heart scoff? "where is the promise of His coming?" does it say as the evil servant in Luke 12 "my master is delaying His coming" or does it align with the Spirit of God in crying "even so Lord, come quickly"

Back to this thing called "Crying Wolf" As believers we have no business looking for the Anti Christ but we should be very aware of the stage he is about to step out on. What is his stage? what are the problems he will seemingly solve. A Global "financial crisis" and he will be a peace broker between Israel and her enemies at a time of great volatility...If that stage is even now being set, we who have ears to hear and eyes to see can take great heart that our "blessed hope" is even at the door!

Maranatha"

My hope is built on nothing less

. . .

What is your hope built on?

My hope is built on nothing less


Than Jesus' blood and righteousness;


I dare not trust the sweetest frame,


But wholly lean on Jesus' name.


On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;


All other ground is sinking sand.

When darkness veils His lovely face,


I rest on His unchanging grace;


In every high and stormy gale


My anchor holds within the veil.


On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;


All other ground is sinking sand.

His oath, His covenant, and blood


Support me in the whelming flood;


When every earthly prop gives way,

He then is all my Hope and Stay.


On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;


All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,


Oh, may I then in Him be found,

Clothed in His righteousness alone,

Faultless to stand before the throne!


On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;


All other ground is sinking sand.

Author: Edward Mote, 1834  |  Composer: John Stainer, 1873

. . .

What Are We to Make of Jesus Christ?

By C. S. Lewis

This is a question which has, in a sense, a frantically comic side. For the real question is not what are we to make of Christ, but what is He to make of us? The picture of a fly sitting deciding what it is going to make of an elephant has comic elements about it. But perhaps the questioner meant what are we to make of Him in the sense of 'How are we to solve the historical problem set us by the recorded sayings and acts of this Man?' This problem is to reconcile two things. On the one hand you have got the almost generally admitted depth and sanity of His moral teaching, which is not very seriously questioned, even by those who are opposed to Christianity. In fact, I find when I am arguing with very anti-God people that they rather make a point of saying, 'I am entirely in favour of the moral teaching of this Man and of His immediate followers, moral truth is exhibited at its purest and best. It is not sloppy idealism, it is full of wisdom and shrewdness. The whole thing is realistic, fresh to the highest degree, the product of a sane mind. That is one phenomenon.

The other phenomenon is the quite appalling nature of this Man's theological remarks. You all know what I mean, and I want rather to stress the point that the appalling claim which this Man seems to be making is not merely made at one moment of His career. there is, of course, the one moment which led to His execution. the moment at which the High Priest said to Him, 'Who are you?' I am the Anointed, the Son of the uncreated God, and you shall see Me appearing at the end of all history as the judge of the universe.' But that claim, in fact, does not rest on this one dramatic moment. When you look in to His conversation you will find this sort of claim running throughout the whole thing. For instance, He went about saying to people, 'I forgive your sins;. Now it is quite natural for a man to forgive something you do to him. Thus if somebody cheats me out of five pounds it is quite possible and reasonable for me to say, ;Well, I forgive him, we will say no more about it.' What on earth would you say if somebody had done you out of five pounds and I said, 'That is all right, I forgive him'? On one occasion this Man is sitting looking down on Jerusalem from the hill above it and suddenly in comes an extraordinary remark - 'I keep on sending you prophets and wise men.' Nobody comments on it. And yet, quite suddenly, almost incidentally, He is claiming to be the power that all through the centuries is sending wise men and leaders into the world. Here is another curious remark: in almost every religion there are unpleasant observances like fasting. This Man suddenly remarks one day, 'No one need fast while I am here.' Who is this Man who remarks that His mere presence suspends all normal rules? Who is the person who can suddenly tell the School they can have a half-holiday? Sometimes the statements put forward the assumption that He, the Speaker, is completely without sin or fault. This is always the attitude. 'You, to whom I am talking, are all sinners,' and He never remotely suggests that this same reproach can be brought against Him. He says again, 'I am the begotten of the One God, before Abraham was, I am,' and remember what the words 'I am' were in Hebrew. They were the name of God, which must not be spoken by any human being, the name which it was death to utter.

Well, that is the other side. On the one side clear, definite moral teaching. On the other, claims which, if not true, are those of a megalomaniac, compared with whom Hitler was the most sane and humble of men. There is no half-way house and there is no parallel in other religions. If you had gone to Buddha and asked him: ;Are you the son of Bramah?' he would have said, 'My son, you are still in the bale of illusion.' If you had gone to Socrates and asked, 'Are you Zeus?' he would have laughed at you. If you had gone to Mohammed and asked, 'Are you Allah?' he would first have rent his clothes and then cut your head off. If you had asked Confucius, 'Are you heaven?', I think he would have probably replied, 'Remarks which are not in accordance with nature are in bad taste.' The idea of a great moral teacher saying what Christ said is out of the question. In my opinion, the only person who can say that sort of thing is either God or a complete lunatic suffering from that form of delusion which undermines the whole mind of man. If you think you are a poached egg, when you are not looking for a piece of toast to suit you may be sane, but if you think you are God, there is no chance for you. We may note in passing that He was never regarded as a mere moral teacher. he did not produce that effect on any of the people who actually met him. He produced mainly three effects - Hatred - Terror - Adoration. There was no trace of people expressing mild approval.

Taken from: "God in the Dock" by C.S. Lewis

. . .

The United States of Laodicea?

[click for larger view]

 

Are You the Coming One?

“When the men had come to Him, they said, “John the Baptist has sent us to You, saying, ‘Are You the Coming One, or do we look for another?’” —Luke 7:20

This passage just came to my mind and I was thinking how it relates to where we are… we, the antsy, awaiting Bride of Christ.

John the baptizer is held up in prison, awaiting his demise, and he’s wondering if this Jesus is the One, the Messiah, after all. If I were John I could see myself wondering the same thing! John knew his time on earth, his ministry, was all about Jesus… preparing the way for the Savior, turning his own disciples into followers of Christ. I don’t know what kind of relationship John had with Him while they were growing up. They were cousins after all. But nothing is said about their closeness. Though John had no problem recognizing Jesus when He came to be baptized by him.

So here we are with all that we see and know in this world that is rushing towards a climax. And though we don’t doubt that Jesus is the One and that He is indeed coming for us, don’t we still feel weak and weary, feeling like we’re held up in prison and experiencing our own doubts and worries? Maybe our question to Him is more, “Are we sure we understand You correctly Jesus? Are you still coming soon or have we misunderstood something?”

Maybe if we listen real carefully we’ll hear Jesus replying:

“Child, remember and do not lose heart! Remember the Truth that you embraced in the beginning. Remember My miracles. Remember My love for you. And remember that I CHANGE NOT. The race is coming quick to the finish line. I AM coming soon!”

Keep the faith and hold tight to Him!!!

° ° °

The wonderful testimony of Christopher Yuan

This is a wonderful testimony of God's saving grace in the life of Christopher Yuan.

我的生命改變了-袁幼軒 from Gideons on Vimeo.

"For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you a future and a hope. Then you will call upon Me and go and pray to Me, and I will listen to you. And you will seek Me and find Me, when you search for Me with all your heart." —Jeremiah 29:11-13

The Lord used this passage, on a note scrawled in Christopher's prison cell, to grab his attention and to begin a life of transformation through the wondrous, saving grace of Jesus Christ.

And the Lord still saves and transforms...

"...that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek, for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him. For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” — Romans 10:9-13

: : :

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.

- - -

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

- - -