Come Jesus, Come

Matthew 24:42 Therefore be alert, since you don’t know what day the Lord is coming. ~HCSB

Matthew 24:46 That slave whose master finds him working when comes will be rewarded. ⁴⁷I assure you: He will put him in charge of all his possessions. ⁴⁸But if that wicked slave says in his heart, ‘My master is delayed,’ ⁴⁹and starts to beat his fellow slave, and eats and drinks with drunkards, ⁵⁰that slave’s master will come on a day he does not expect and at an hour he does not know. ~HCSB

I have heard it argued that the “End Times” have been preached since Jesus ascended into Heaven and that Christians should not spend too much time worrying about the return of Jesus and “End Times Prophecy” because every generation believed he would return in their generation and that it has never come to pass. Even Paul and Jesus’ disciples believed, no, knew in their hearts that He would return in their lifetime and they were proven incorrect in their belief.

It is true they were convinced He would return in their lifetimes as have many generations of believers been convinced our Lord would return in their lifetimes. And I know in my heart that He will return to claim His church in my lifetime. I believe it could happen before I am able to get this paper finished and posted to my blog.

The questions are:

• Is it wrong to have a strong belief in the immediacy of the return of Jesus?
• Were Paul and His disciples foolish for believing and preaching His immanent return?
• Should pastors and Christians place prophecy on the back burner and only refer to it when we want to have intellectual discussions with our fellow believers?
• Should we scorn believers for their ferverent belief in Jesus’ teachings?

Or:

· Should we continually be watchful and pray that we and our loved-ones are found watching and ready at the time of His return?

· Should we make it a point to frequently, with enthusiasm share the glorious news of the return of our Lord?

First off, as shown is Matthew 24:42 above, Jesus tell us to “be alert”, therefore everyone should be alert and ready for His imminent return. This is a teaching of Jesus who is the Son of the living God and His word is infallible.

Secondly, Paul and Jesus’ disciples had pure faith in the Lord and therefore followed His teachings in every way. They were not foolish; to the contrary, they were wise men that believed as Jesus would have had them believe.

Third, pastors and other Christians should not put any of the gospels on the back burner. Discussions of the end times are important, but all of the gospels are important and should be preached and taught as led by the Holy Spirit.

Finally, following the teachings of Jesus is never foolish!

Matthew 16:2 He answered them: "When evening comes you say, 'It will be good weather because the sky is red.' ³ And in the morning, 'Today will be stormy because the sky is red and threatening.' You know how to read the appearance of the sky, but you can't read the signs of the times. ~HCSB

In Matthew 16:2-3 above, Jesus is chastising the Pharisees and Sadducees for their unwillingness to believe. I believe it is also a warning to us today. It is a warning to know the signs of the times and to believe them. Many Christians know the signs but are unwilling to acknowledge them and many do not even want to know what the signs of the end time are because of fear. End-times prophecy is nothing to fear for Christians. It is God’s loving way of letting us know of things to come. Much of the Bible’s prophecy has already been fulfilled; therefore, we know His Word is true and we need to know as much as we can about what the end times will look like and be willing to believe as we see these things happen and are being fulfilled around us so we are not caught off guard and so we won’t be fooled by false prophets and false teachings. If it were not necessary for us to know and to be aware of, God and Jesus would not have told us what was to be.

We have nothing to fear when Jesus returns for His bride and it will be a glorious day for in an instant, we will be in the presence of God and our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I can only hope that I am able to be here when that glorious day arrives. Come Lord Jesus, come.

Thoughts of A Former "Fetus"

-Mark 9:36 Then He took a child, had him stand among them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷ "Whoever welcomes one little child such as this in My name welcomes Me. And whoever welcomes Me does not welcome Me, but Him who sent Me."

Those who are "pro-abortion" argue that it is a woman's choice as to whether she will have a child or an abortion. They would argue that it is "her body" and it is her right to decide what she does with it. They would further argue that as a man I have no right to an opinion in the matter. I will concede to them that as a man, I probably have no right to an opinion. However, I am more than a man, I am a former "fetus" (although I prefer the term unborn baby), as is every other living, breathing person on earth. I believe this gives me and the rest of us right to comment. You see, I to was in the same position as every unborn baby is today. Because I was born to a loving Mother who first of all believes in Jesus and then believes in life, I am here to have an opinion. Therefore, I believe I do not only have a right, I have an obligation to speak on behalf of unborn children who don't have the ability to defend themselves. For if I had been in the womb of a women who "chose" to abort me I would not be here to voice my thoughts.

Even more surprising than this, everyone who argues for abortion, including those who have abortions are former "fetuses" as well. Its pretty easy to take the stand they do now that they are safe and there is no possible way their misguided views on abortion could possibly end their existence. They have safely made it through the birth canal because they probably had loving Mothers who believed in life that were willing to go through the wonderful life-changing experience of being a Mom, withstanding the discomfort of pregnancy and pain of childbirth to first lay their eyes on that amazing miracle of life.

I find it extremely distressing that in the United States of America, the land of the free, where our constitution grantees LIFE, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that we have allowed the unthinkable to happen for the last forty years. That an estimated 40,000,000 babies have been aborted. Forty million babies - that is a number greater than the population of many countries. I find that number to be absolutely astounding! Who knows what wondrous things would have happened in this country had they not been aborted. Sure, some would have been criminals, some would have grown up to have children out of wedlock themselves, and who knows how many would have grown up to be men and women of God, doctors, lawyers, scientists, moms, dads, all around good people, or true statesmen and women. We will never know what tremendous accomplishments, tragedies, cures for diseases, scientific discoveries, or how much love was destroyed. Its just sad, very sad.

All of the opinions on earth don't really matter, though. As a former "fetus" I know that abortion is wrong not simply from the knowledge that comes from being a former "fetus". I know that it is wrong because I know the God of the Bible and He has told us how wrong it is starting in the Ten Commandments and numerous place throughout the Bible. I believe he has also imprinted it on our hearts. I think everyone knows it is wrong but out of some selfish need refuses to acknowledge it. You see, God, in His Righteousness determined before the world began what was good. He created us in His image and has given us instruction of good that we would have fuller lives. He also gave us free will which allows us to make good and bad decisions - even to ignore His leading and to turn our backs on Him and because man thinks he knows more than God, he chooses not to follow God's perfect will.

God bless all of those aborted children and bless all of the yet to be born children, in Jesus Name. Amen.

Always Home

I had a most blessed experience today, Easter Sunday. I am away from my home on business. I am in Barstow, CA. Anyway, I attended the First Baptist Church of Barstow and as worship began I realized that even though I was in a curch many miles from my church, in a sanctuary full of people I had never met, I was home. I was with my brothers and sisters in Christ and even though they didn't know me and I didn't know them we all have the same hope and are all lovers of God and have found salvation through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.

It is very comforting to know that our Lord always was, is, and will always be. Not only that, He is omni present. No matter where I am or where I will be, He is with me. Not only is He with me, He remains with my wife where she is and with all of my children and grandchildren where they are. What a mighty God we serve! Praise His name! My fellow believers will know exactly what I am speaking of and those who are not followers of Jesus have no earthly idea of the comfort this brings. However, if you don't know Jesus, please understand that he is just one prayer away. He will meet you where you are because you are not able to be where He is on your own. Then you too will know the comfort that being a member of the family of God is.

My six-year old grandson, who is, praise God, also my little brother in Christ understands this. His dad told me just today of him watching his best friend being babptized. He had not realized his best friend had come to know Jesus. When he realized his best friend was saved, my preasious grandson got a tear in his eye and said to his father, "this means my friend and I are really brothers now because he is my brother in Christ." How wonderful and glorious is that? Praise God.

May We All Be as One

Before he went to the cross, Jesus prayed to the Father the following prayer in John 17:

" ²⁰ I pray not only for these, but also for those who believe in Me through their message. ²¹ May they all be one, as You, Father, are in Me and I am in You. May they also be one in Us, so the world may believe You sent Me. ²² I have given them the glory You have given Me. May they be one as We are one. ²³ I am in them and You are in Me. May they be made completely one, so the world may know You have sent Me and have loved them as You have loved Me." ~HSB

He prayed this prayer for all believers. I fear we have divided the body of Christ over the years. Through man assigning his own rituals and rights to Christianity, he has divided the body into different denominations and different independent "non-denominations". Each of which has its own set of rights and rituals (Biblical or not) that are to be followed. (In the interest of full disclosure, I am a Southern Baptist) I don't wish to cast any denomination or non-denominational in a bad light.

The Body of Christ rarely comes together outside of our individual denominations. I believe this is not what Jesus had in mind when he prayed for all of us believers.

I believe that we as believers should look for ways to come together in the Name of Jesus and pray for our communities, states, country, and the world. I believe this is needed more today than ever before in history. I believe we are in the last days before Jesus comes back to claim His church and that this country and the world is being attacked constantly by the evil one. There is no moral courage left in this country or the world. The secular world does not believe there is evil in this world nor do they believe in absolutes. To believe in absolutes means one has to judge behavior and to judge behavior is to be judged. To be judged means that one cannot live life as he wishes. "What is right for you is not right for me."

The economy has and continues to go south. Man's wealth is turning to dust before his eyes. The country and the world is in dire straits with no sign that anything will improve anytime in the near or distant future. Man needs our prayer. We need to look for ways to come together in our communities and pray for the lost and fallen.

I don't know how to make this happen but I know we are going through some very trying times. Please pray for the lost and fallen and that God would continue use The Body for His glory.

God bless you all.