January 15th 2017
Are You Ready For Jesus To Return To Earth To Pick Up His Friends?
Mark 13:13 (NIV)
All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Today is Friday the 13th, and thus it seemed appropriate to use the selected verse. In my youth, many people told me that this superstition started because of the last Supper and that 13-people attended it! Do you hold to any other superstitions? You will have bad luck, if a black cat crosses your path, or do not walk under a standing ladder, etc. Do you believe in luck? I do not believe in luck at all! Whether good or bad things happen to you in this life is not controlled by luck, all such situations are ultimately controlled by God! Many bad situations are the result of human error, or because some other human intentionally caused it to happen. A wise man once wrote this proverb, Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. (Proverbs 29:25)
One of the great fears in this life is of course death. However, as the selected verse states, “he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” So, this greatest fear is covered by believing that the perfect sacrifice Jesus made in your stead, will in fact, propel you into the perfect life reserved for you by the efforts of Jesus! Most of us do not desire to be hated by anyone, and certainly not to be hated by all, as Jesus puts it “All men will hate you because of me!” A more modern translation put it a little softer. And everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. But those who endure to the end will be saved. Mark 13:13, NLT). As this translation, says “everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me.” Thus, you will only be hated if you take Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.
Of course, most of us reading this believe there is evil in this world, and there are devils led by Satan, who can inflict bad situations (bad luck?) on you. However, the writer of Job tells us that God still holds back these devils from inflicting harm on some people. In the following verses, God allows Satan to disrupt Job’s life, but initially God does not allow Satan to harm Job. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1:10-12). So, if you know the rest of this story, then you know eventually, God reinstates Job’s earthly holdings, and even increase his wealth!
This story seems to indicate that God may allow Satan to bring harm on mankind, but that God still stays in control overall! Again, there is no such thing as luck. God may allow some suffering to occur, but as Paul has written we also know that God does offer protection for those who love Him! And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). Therefore, if you have been called, in some instances you will be protected! Yes, sometimes there are people who love Jesus and they are martyrs. However, please remember that death is not the end of life, but a new beginning for those who love Jesus! So, should we seek to die, of course not, but we seek to be called into service by Jesus!
James was called into service by His brother Jesus, and James wrote about being called to service because of faith. James wrote about how faith must spur us on to servanthood! So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless. (James 2:17, NLT). “What a friend we have in Jesus.” Is a term indicating that every follower of Jesus is looked at as His friend! James wrote about how Abraham was also a friend of God, because he followed God’s commands without questioning the potential results, he just did it! You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. (James 2:22-24).
All belief systems start with faith. In Christianity, this faith must be placed in God/Jesus, not in the amassed knowledge on mankind! Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:1, 3). Some members of mankind believe that everything we see came into being on its own volition, this is commonly known as evolution. Many professing Christians have come to believe that mankind has proven that the universe is too old to be accurately described by the book of Genesis. So, they have replaced the first 11 chapters with the ideas of mankind. Many believe God used evolution to replace creation as how everything we see got here.
Originally the ideas about evolution came about from atheists, because without a god or gods, there is no way to explain how everything originally got here! If you believe the evolutionary theory, then you cannot believe there was a worldwide Flood, as the Bible plainly states. To believe the Bible, all of it, is God’s Word, requires faith! The writer of Hebrews obviously believed in the Flood by faith in the Old Testament books. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 1:6-7)
Jesus believed there was a worldwide Flood, and Jesus also believed He is coming back to this earth, as a religious dictator! Jesus once said, “For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:38-39). So, what do you believe about what Jesus believed, could He have been mistaken, or was He telling a lie? Apparently, Jesus believed the first 11 chapters of Genesis were true, and could be quoted as fact.
Are you ready for Jesus to return, to first, rapture His friends, and then to establish His kingdom on this earth? Jesus is coming back, whether you are ready or not. Get ready it is the most important thing you must do in this lifetime!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
Mark 13:13 (NIV)
All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.
Today is Friday the 13th, and thus it seemed appropriate to use the selected verse. In my youth, many people told me that this superstition started because of the last Supper and that 13-people attended it! Do you hold to any other superstitions? You will have bad luck, if a black cat crosses your path, or do not walk under a standing ladder, etc. Do you believe in luck? I do not believe in luck at all! Whether good or bad things happen to you in this life is not controlled by luck, all such situations are ultimately controlled by God! Many bad situations are the result of human error, or because some other human intentionally caused it to happen. A wise man once wrote this proverb, Fear of man will prove to be a snare, but whoever trusts in the LORD is kept safe. (Proverbs 29:25)
One of the great fears in this life is of course death. However, as the selected verse states, “he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” So, this greatest fear is covered by believing that the perfect sacrifice Jesus made in your stead, will in fact, propel you into the perfect life reserved for you by the efforts of Jesus! Most of us do not desire to be hated by anyone, and certainly not to be hated by all, as Jesus puts it “All men will hate you because of me!” A more modern translation put it a little softer. And everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. But those who endure to the end will be saved. Mark 13:13, NLT). As this translation, says “everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me.” Thus, you will only be hated if you take Jesus to be your Lord and Savior.
Of course, most of us reading this believe there is evil in this world, and there are devils led by Satan, who can inflict bad situations (bad luck?) on you. However, the writer of Job tells us that God still holds back these devils from inflicting harm on some people. In the following verses, God allows Satan to disrupt Job’s life, but initially God does not allow Satan to harm Job. "Have you not put a hedge around him and his household and everything he has? You have blessed the work of his hands, so that his flocks and herds are spread throughout the land. But stretch out your hand and strike everything he has, and he will surely curse you to your face." The LORD said to Satan, "Very well, then, everything he has is in your hands, but on the man himself do not lay a finger." Then Satan went out from the presence of the LORD. (Job 1:10-12). So, if you know the rest of this story, then you know eventually, God reinstates Job’s earthly holdings, and even increase his wealth!
This story seems to indicate that God may allow Satan to bring harm on mankind, but that God still stays in control overall! Again, there is no such thing as luck. God may allow some suffering to occur, but as Paul has written we also know that God does offer protection for those who love Him! And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28). Therefore, if you have been called, in some instances you will be protected! Yes, sometimes there are people who love Jesus and they are martyrs. However, please remember that death is not the end of life, but a new beginning for those who love Jesus! So, should we seek to die, of course not, but we seek to be called into service by Jesus!
James was called into service by His brother Jesus, and James wrote about being called to service because of faith. James wrote about how faith must spur us on to servanthood! So you see, it isn’t enough just to have faith. Faith that doesn’t show itself by good deeds is no faith at all—it is dead and useless. (James 2:17, NLT). “What a friend we have in Jesus.” Is a term indicating that every follower of Jesus is looked at as His friend! James wrote about how Abraham was also a friend of God, because he followed God’s commands without questioning the potential results, he just did it! You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, "Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness," and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is justified by what he does and not by faith alone. (James 2:22-24).
All belief systems start with faith. In Christianity, this faith must be placed in God/Jesus, not in the amassed knowledge on mankind! Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. (Hebrews 11:1, 3). Some members of mankind believe that everything we see came into being on its own volition, this is commonly known as evolution. Many professing Christians have come to believe that mankind has proven that the universe is too old to be accurately described by the book of Genesis. So, they have replaced the first 11 chapters with the ideas of mankind. Many believe God used evolution to replace creation as how everything we see got here.
Originally the ideas about evolution came about from atheists, because without a god or gods, there is no way to explain how everything originally got here! If you believe the evolutionary theory, then you cannot believe there was a worldwide Flood, as the Bible plainly states. To believe the Bible, all of it, is God’s Word, requires faith! The writer of Hebrews obviously believed in the Flood by faith in the Old Testament books. And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him. By faith Noah, when warned about things not yet seen, in holy fear built an ark to save his family. By his faith he condemned the world and became heir of the righteousness that comes by faith. (Hebrews 1:6-7)
Jesus believed there was a worldwide Flood, and Jesus also believed He is coming back to this earth, as a religious dictator! Jesus once said, “For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man.” (Matthew 24:38-39). So, what do you believe about what Jesus believed, could He have been mistaken, or was He telling a lie? Apparently, Jesus believed the first 11 chapters of Genesis were true, and could be quoted as fact.
Are you ready for Jesus to return, to first, rapture His friends, and then to establish His kingdom on this earth? Jesus is coming back, whether you are ready or not. Get ready it is the most important thing you must do in this lifetime!
Your brother in life through Adam, your brother in eternity through Jesus,
Bob Moak
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