Trouble Will Come

And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you:

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows.

                                                                         (Mark 13:5-8 KJV)

Jesus warned the disciples that troubles would be coming but that they should not be troubled about it. They were warned to pay attention so that no one is deceived by the many false saviors that would come. We also need to pay attention to his warning and do some discerning before we go off following a false savior whether human or otherwise.

Trouble has been upon the earth since Adam and Eve decided that they were going to do their own thing in spite of what God had told them they ought not to do. Trouble has always been here and yes it could get worse. In fact Jesus says it will. He says these things are only the beginning of sorrows.

False saviors come and go. They are in Hollywood at least it appears that some of these stars and followers think they are saviors. False saviors abound in Washington D.C.. and in pretty much most political office. False saviors abound even in the church. These false saviors often cause more harm than good as they are looking out for their own best interests and not the interests of the people. Jesus is the only savior who was putting the lives of all the people before his own. An indigent preacher and teacher; he went out and healed the sick. He gave his life on the cross so that through his sacrifice all people could be made whole in the Kingdom of God. He gave his life that we could be saved from our own corruption.

Lots of false prophets, teachers, and preachers in the world and always have been. Do they bring us hope? Or, do they bring us gloom and doom? All prophets will warn about disasters coming. But, a prophet of God will also provide hope and that hope is not found in ourselves. It is not found in the world around us. It is found by faith in Christ alone.

Troubles will come; but, thanks be to God through Jesus the Christ the Kingdom of God is at hand and in it you can know peace.

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Gospel Of The Kingdom

And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world?

And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you.

For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.

And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.

For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places.

All these are the beginning of sorrows.

Then shall they deliver you up to be afflicted, and shall kill you: and ye shall be hated of all nations for my name's sake.

And then shall many be offended, and shall betray one another, and shall hate one another.

And many false prophets shall rise, and shall deceive many.

And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold.

But he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved.

And this gospel of the kingdom shall be preached in all the world for a witness unto all nations; and then shall the end come.

                                                                             (Matt 24:3-13 KJV)

I have been hearing doomsday warning since I was a very little girl clinging to my grandmother's skirts. All of the travesties have been occurring my entire life. One think has not. The gospel of the kingdom has not been preached in all the world. Many have not heard the good news that all who believe Jesus' message of the kingdom for all who believe. It has not been heard because even within many churches the good news has been relegated to things of the kingdom like love or peace. I do not mean to downplay the attributes of love and peace. Love and peace surely belong to the kingdom. However, the kingdom must come in its fullness for love and peace to be fully realized.

There are many sorrows in the world today. There have always been and they will continue until the gospel, the good news of the kingdom is actually preached in all of the world. 

May God empower everyone of His children with the courage and wisdom to proclaim this good news!

God's Peace - Pr. J.

Signs And Supermoon

Supermoon by John Arthur Photography

“There will be signs in the sun, moon and stars. On the earth, nations will be in anguish and perplexity at the roaring and tossing of the sea. People will faint from terror, apprehensive of what is coming on the world, for the heavenly bodies will be shaken. At that time they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. When these things begin to take place, stand up and lift up your heads, because your redemption is drawing near.” Luke 21:25-28 NIV

I had looked forward to taking a peek at the supermoon that occurred the other night; however, the sky was filled with clouds. Legends and myths tell horrifying stories of the effects of the full moon on both the physical world as well as on the human mind. Thus, we get the word lunacy. Fortunately, with the recent full moon I did not personally hear anyone blaming the supermoon for their bad behavior. They were too busy blaming other more earthly things like the electoral process. There is a slightly higher tide during full moons which myths and folklore attribute to floods and earthquakes, even tsunamis that might occur during this phase of the moon. The full moon is also responsible for those frightening stories of werewolves, who prey would prey upon humankind. What's a person to do? What's a Christian to do?

Jesus tells us that there will be signs in the sun and the moon and the stars. But, he also reminds us that these things are good signs. When they take place, we should lift up our heads, because our redemption is drawing near. Many will faint from terror; but, we should not fear. Do not worry about the signs. Do not worry about full moons. Jesus is Lord of both the heavens and the earth. Rejoice for the Kingdom of God has come near to you. The Kingdom belongs to all who believe! 

As Christians, we have way too many better things to do than cower in the corner worrying if the end of the world is about to come. We are preparing for the King of Kings to show up in full glory by proclaiming the Good News of his Kingdom (in word and deed) so that all might hear and believe.

There is way too much good that God can do through each of us for us to fritter away what time we do have on earth worrying about signs of the end times. Lift up your heads! Rejoice! Live life! Your redemption is drawing near!

God's Peace - Pr. J