Hi kiddos! I totally forgot today was blog day... Not entirely my fault I might add... Last weekend I was busy with my music team in Saint John Trade and Convention Center for SYNC Youth Convention! Which was AH-MAZING! Be jealous! Since I've been home I've been nothing but a sicky! Seriously, I never get this sick, didn't go to work for two days in a row and stayed between the lazy-boy & bed until this morning! Not to worry, I got some Buckley's pills and am having a good hour now so I'm taking the time to write you all something! Hope you like it!
We all know about the crazy who recently declared the END OF THE WORLD (said in one of those Star Treky announcer voices haha! Yes I watched that with my dad when I was little as well! ha!) would be Saturday, May 21, 2011... And surprise, surprise it didn't happen. I seriously have a problem with these idiots (yeh, that's the word I meant to use there, that's what they are... If you want me to get biblical for you they would be called fools) and not because they are... well... Idiots but because they are effecting other people! UGH! I'm not talking about the silly followers jumping on the band wagon of doom and gloom but the on-lookers who know these people are missing a couple of the bright crayons in their pack. Those people "know" the world isn't ending on Saturday but the problem is the predictions and warnings desensitizes them completely!
I'm going to admit something that will make me seem silly to some but it's the truth and I think I need to share it anyway (those of you who know me well know I usually don't shy away from silly anyway ha!) Thursday or Wednesday night last week I lay in bed stewing over "the idiot" and all is warnings for all the reasons stated above... But then my mind went somewhere else... The Bible says the end of the world is coming, that Jesus is going to return to fight for Israel and take His church (His people) to heaven... Mark 13:32 and Matthew 24:36-39 it just says "But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven's angels..." that it is not going to be at an expected time but it "will take place in times like Noah's. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away!" And I started thinking well, an unexpected hour is Saturday because really, no one believes this dufas anyway! Yikes, what if God really does come back Saturday or what if he surprises everyone and comes back before Saturday! Would I be ready to meet Jesus? I mean I think I am but how do I know, they say you're supposed to know! Would he be pleased enough with the way I live, speak, act, love and think to take me with Him or would I fall short! I mean I try but how do I know! Oh I should pray, but if I pray it's just because I'm frightened... I wouldn't accept that kind of prayer if I was God, maybe I should just rely on God knowing I try and am sincere!
And those thoughts and scriptures are what inspired this blog:
- First to make sure you know, even though there are some idiots around who think they can predict THE END OF THE WORLD (see prior voice description haha!) and are never correct it will some day come. I'm not predicting doom and gloom or following the footsteps of a fool... I do not know a day or hour and I, like you, have heard the warnings all my life but I must ring the alarm I heard that night in bed! God is coming back and soon! Don't get comfortable in having lots of time to get things right just because the alarm has dulled after so many days ring! Matthew 24:42 and Luke 12:39 both tell us to keep expecting and not to get careless, so don't!
- And second, to answer my own question, possibly yours as well... "How do I know?" Revelation 3:3 tells us to "Think of the gift you once had in your hands, the Message you heard with your ears—grasp it again and turn back to God. If you pull the covers back over your head and sleep on, oblivious to God, I'll return when you least expect it, break into your life like a thief in the night." Therein lies the answer, did you miss it? It's the gift, the message, the turning to God! So I need to go back to the first thing I heard, and not just I as one person but the origin of the gospel, the first time anyone heard the message... Acts 2:37-39 Peter was the one who first put into words what Jesus said would be the rock on which he would build His church! Peter taught to "Change your life. Turn to God" the way you probably heard this is "repent!" (which is King James Version of the same scripture.) The process of repentance is confessing your sin to God and determining a change of direction with follow through! But the salvation plan Peter described doesn't end there, in fact, he didn't even end his sentence with just turning to God through repentance but seamlessly joined "and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ, so your sins are forgiven!" So there's step one and two... That's the message and turning parts covered... But wait, we forgot something, What about the gift portion? I like gifts... Oh common, we all love gifts! Don't worry, Peter didn't forget the gift part either, "Receive the gift of the Holy Spirit!" was his very next sentence! (the evidence of the gift is always the same -speaking in tongues- and is explained in these and other scriptures, here are the links: Acts 2:3 the first time anyone received the gift! Acts 10:44-46 when the Jews first knew "the outsiders" meaning non-Jewish people received the gift! Acts 19:6 when Paul laid hands on people after repentance and baptism they received the gift!)
The alarm has been rung, Jesus is coming back. I've determined to be ready for the END OF THE WORLD (again, voice reference) and by following the bible I've remembered the message, followed the turning through repentance, baptism in Jesus' name and I've received the gift! Now I have to stay alert and remember the actual turning to God is a lifetime process and commitment to share the gift and message with others hoping they will experience the turning! I for one am glad I now know "This mystery has been kept in the dark for a long time, but now it's out in the open. God wanted everyone, not just Jews, to know this rich and glorious secret inside and out, regardless of their background, regardless of their religious standing. The mystery in a nutshell is just this: Christ is in you, so therefore you can look forward to sharing in God's glory. It's that simple. That is the substance of our Message. We preach Christ, warning people not to add to the Message. We teach in a spirit of profound common sense so that we can bring each person to maturity. To be mature is to be basic. Christ! No more, no less. That's what I'm working so hard at day after day, year after year, doing my best with the energy God so generously gives me!"Colossians 1:28-29
1 comment:
Read your blog .... good work!
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