June 15, 2023: Psalm 145:9 - The LORD is Good to All

“The LORD is good to all, and His tender mercies are over all His works.” - Psalm 145:9

Oh, what a true verse in the song of God’s majesty and love that David the psalmist wrote of our God! God is good to all. His goodness reaches to the most kind and humble people you could ever know to the wretched and murderous ones filled with hate in their heart. His goodness extends to all people, who are all sinners in need of a Savior.

God’s goodness was demonstrated in such a way that He sent His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to suffer in a way that no one has ever suffered. Jesus, who never sinned, had all of our sins placed on Him - the sin of every person who had ever lived at that time, extending to the sins of all people still to come - feeling the loneliness of sin, even asking God, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?” (Mark 15:34), a statement prophetically uttered by David long before Jesus came to earth (Psalm 22:1). But God, He did not forsake Jesus. Oh no, three days after Jesus gave up His life and His body was placed in the tomb, God raised Jesus from the dead, and for 40 days, Jesus remained on the earth, spending time with His apostles and disciples before He ascended to heaven to sit at the right hand of God. Oh, yes, our God is good, and He promises to resurrect to new life all who put their faith and trust in His Son Jesus Christ.

God’s mercy extends to all through His works. Psalm 111:7 tells us, “The works of His hands are verity and justice…” “Verity” means that which is true, or truth. God’s goodness never changes. Our rejection of His goodness is not a reflection of Him but of us, of a prideful and unrepentant heart and a rejection of the truth. For one to be good, one must be just, and God is a just God. For those who reject His mercy and forgiveness, He will judge them, He will deliver justice to them. That time is coming, but until then, we are in a time of mercy and grace. It’s not too late to turn to Jesus Christ and receive His free gift of salvation from all your sins. As David urged all as he wrote in Psalm 34:8, “Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him!” Will you do that today? ✝️

June 13, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:14 - Keep the Good Thing Committed by the Holy Spirit

“That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit who dwells in us.” - 2 Timothy 1:14

The more I read the Bible, the more it draws me in, giving me a hunger for it like no other book I have ever read. There is a reason for that: it is no ordinary book. As Paul would later write to Timothy:

“All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” (2 Timothy 3:16-17)

Before I became a believer in Jesus Christ, trusting in Him alone for my salvation - redemption of all my sins, paid by His precious blood - I started reading the Bible. I was seeking God but not yet filled by the Holy Spirit. However, as Jesus told His disciples, the Holy Spirit was convicting me of my sin, showing me I am a sinner in need of the Savior:

“And when He [the Holy Spirit] has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler [Satan] of this world is judged.” (Jesus Christ; John 16:8-11)

This conviction was so strong that I sought to know the truth, and I found it. After having read the entire Bible cover to cover, I absolutely knew it was the word of God, and not long after that, I put my faith and trust in Jesus for my salvation and I gave Him my heart. Once I did that, I continued to read the Bible and I started to understand things that previously did not make sense to me or which I did not comprehend the first time that I read it. Things started to connect, particularly with Bible prophecy, which is the foretelling of things to come before they actually happen. The Bible is the only book that accurately prophesies events to come hundreds even a thousand or more years before they happen. The first coming of Jesus Christ is one of those events, and He fulfilled hundreds of prophecies written about the coming Messiah in the Old Testament.

Every single person who has turned to Jesus Christ, believing in Him as their Savior, is instantly filled with the Holy Spirit. Once the conversion happens, as Jesus told His disciples, the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth (John 16:13). It is by the power of the Holy Spirit that we can understand God’s word.

When Jesus was speaking with Nicodemus, a Jewish man and a Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews who had come to Jesus by night to ask Jesus some questions. Nicodemus knew there was something about Jesus, something different:

“‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher come from God; for no one can do these signs that You do unless God is with him.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.’ Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born?’ Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.’” (John 3:1-6)

As humans beings, we are differ when ent from everything else created by God, because we are created in His image and we are born of water. When we are in our mother’s womb, we are enclosed in a bag of water. A mother’s bag of water breaks before her baby is born. As the Bible tells us, in order to see the kingdom of God, to be allowed entry into it, we must be born again by the Spirit of God, the Holy Spirit. We are baptized by the Holy Spirit. This does not mean that we must be water baptized to be saved by Jesus Christ; no, the only requirement is that we believe or trust in Jesus Christ for our salvation from sins. We can known this to be true by remembering the thief on the cross who was one of two men who were crucified at the same time that Jesus was crucified. He acknowledged he was a sinner and he acknowledged Jesus is the Christ, and said to Jesus, “‘Lord, remember me when You come into Your kingdom.’ And Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you, today you will be with Me in Paradise.’” (Luke 23:42-43) There was no water baptism, only belief in Jesus in who He is and a baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Paul the apostle wrote about receiving the Holy Spirit in his letters to the church in Corinth, Greece:

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13)

Paul wrote about believers having the Holy Spirit in the book of Romans:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” (Romans 8:1)

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9)

In the book of Ephesians, Paul also wrote about believers in Christ being sealed by the Holy Spirit:

“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 1:4)

We are sealed by His Holy Spirit, who guides us into all truth, giving us understanding of the Scriptures that the unbelieving world does not understand, no matter their status in this world. They can have billions of dollars and be rich and powerful beyond compare but be spiritually bankrupt and without understanding of the things of God because they have rejected Jesus Christ. Paul wrote about this in 1 Corinthians 2:

“However, we speak wisdom among those who are mature, yet not the wisdom of this age, nor of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, the hidden wisdom which God ordained [predetermined] before the ages for our glory, which none of the rulers of this age knew; for had they known, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But as it is written:

‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’

“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man [unsaved] does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. For ‘who has known the mind of the LORD that he may instruct Him?’ But we have the mind of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 2:6-16)

The Holy Spirit convicts unbelievers of their sins, showing them they need to be saved by the One who is righteous - Jesus Christ. Jesus alone is the way out of judgment, out of condemnation:

“For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:17-19)

Each of us has a choice to make: do we choose salvation or condemnation, do we choose light or darkness, do we choose good or evil, do we choose Jesus or Satan? Satan is the god - the false god - of this world. This is acknowledged in the book of Luke when Satan tempted Jesus Christ when Jesus was in the wilderness for 40 days and fasted during those days of temptation. Satan said to Jesus in one of those temptations:

“Then the devil, taking Him up on a high mountain, showed Him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time. And the devil said to Him, ‘All this authority I will give You, and their glory; for this has been delivered to me, and I give it to whomever I wish. Therefore, if You will worship before me, all will be Yours.’ And Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Get behind Me, Satan! For it is written, “You shall worship the LORD your God, and Him only you shall serve,”’” (Luke 4:5-8)

Notice that Jesus did not dispute Satan’s claim that all the kingdoms of the world had been delivered to him. I believe that Satan has tempted many people as well, promising them many material things in exchange for their worship of him, for their souls, and disregarding Jesus’ words that they should only worship and serve God. The time is coming when Satan and all who follow him will be judged when Jesus returns to earth a second time. At Jesus second coming, however, He will not come as a lamb offering salvation from sins but as a lion, pouring out His righteous wrath on a world that chose condemnation over salvation, darkness over light, evil over good, and Satan over Him.

God’s word is a message of salvation through believing and trusting in Jesus Christ and as a warning of the spiritual war that is at work and has been since the garden of Eden for the souls of mankind. Either Jesus or Satan will own your soul; there is no in between. For those of us whose souls are owned by Jesus, we will suffer persecution and I believe this will increase even more than it already has, including the banning of the Bible in the USA, as it already is in other countries. On June 2, 2023, a school district in Utah that oversees the “education” of 72,000 students banned the Bible because one parent complained “its verses were too vulgar or violent for younger children” and the parent was “frustrated by efforts to ban materials from schools.” This, I believe, is the start of severe persecution coming to our country, as the USA continues to abandon its faith in God to believe the lies of Satan. The Bible even foretells of this. The ones doing the persecuting and deceivingare unknowingly being deceived themselves by Satan, whose goals are to steal, kill, and destroy. (See: https://apnews.com/article/book-ban-school-library-bible-fc025c8ccf30e955aaf0b0ee1899608a)

“Yes, and all who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil men and impostors will grow worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived. But you must continue in the things which you have learned and been assured of, knowing them from whom you have learned them, and that from childhood you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus.” (2 Timothy 3:12-15)

Those us who are in Christ must heed the words of Paul and keep the good thing, the doctrine of the gospel, the good news of salvation though faith in Jesus Christ and we must keep it not by our own strength but through the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells in us. Let us remember that our trust, our hope, our eternity is not in this world but in Jesus Christ, and He is King of kings and Lord of lords, and one day, I believe soon, our salvation will be complete, when we are with Him, never looking back on the things of this world but only looking ahead, to a glorious eternal life with Him and all our brothers and sisters, where sin and sorrow abound no more.

When Jesus was brought to the court during one of His trials before He was crucified, He was asked a question by Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor to whom the Jews had brought Jesus to put Him to death:

“‘Are You a king, then?’ Jesus answered, ‘You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.” (Jesus Christ; John 18:37)

In the book of John, we have an account when Jesus was talking to the Jews in the Jewish temple. Jesus said to them:

“But you do not believe, because you are not of My sheep, as I said to you. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and My Father are one.” (Jesus Christ; John 10:26-30)

I leave you with these five questions:

1. Have you put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, believing in Him for salvation from your sins?

2. If not, are you prepared to spend your eternity in hell, separated from Him forever, in a place of never-ending torment?

3. What is holding you back from turning to Him?

4. Is not turning to Him going to be worth it in the end?

5. Will you be like the thief on the cross that is with Jesus now in Paradise, or will you be like the other thief who mocked Jesus and is now in hell, in a place of torment forever?

June 10, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:13 - Hold Fast the Pattern of Sound Words in Faith and Love

“Hold fast the pattern of sound words which you have heard from me, in faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.” - 2 Timothy 1:13

What does it mean to “hold fast?” It means to keep or to remember, to keep close to one’s heart. Memorizing Scripture verses is something that has been very helpful to me but it did not come easy. When I was part of a very small church choir, our director asked us to memorize Psalm 100. To me, it was like I was back in school again, and that Scripture seemed so long to me! I was completely intimidated when others in the choir were able to recite it and I was still trying to memorize the first three verses. Let us read Psalm 100 for ourselves:

“Make a joyful shout to the LORD, all you lands! Serve the LORD with gladness; come before His presence with singing. Know that the LORD, He is God; it is He who has made us, and not we ourselves; we are His people and the sheep of His pasture. Enter into His gates with thanksgiving, and into His courts with praise. Be thankful to Him, and bless His name. For the LORD is good; His mercy is everlasting, and His truth endures to all generations.” (Psalm 100)

Eventually, with more work at memorizing the verses, including writing them down, I was able to memorize this Scripture. That one memorization exercise led me on a path to want to memorize more verses. I decided to add them as a note in my phone and a reminder daily at noon to read them. The next verse I decided to memorize was one that really hit home for me, it was about tribulations, difficulties in life:

“And not only that, but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope.” (Romans 5:3-4)

I needed this verse desperately at the time because I was going through extreme difficulties in my life and with my family. This verse reminded me that there is a purpose in all of the troubles that I was experiencing, that it wasn’t all for naught. When we go through these difficult times in our lives as a peculiar people who have put our faith and trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and if we hold fast to His word, the trials produce in us the ability to persevere, to keep going and not give up and abandon our faith in Him. These tribulations reveal whether our faith in Him in genuine - is it real, or is it a veneer that is worn away when troubles come, like pounding rain and whipping winds on a house that was already weathered many storms? If our faith in Jesus is genuine, if it is real, then it produces that which no one and nothing else in this world can offer us: hope.

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while, if need be, you have been grieved by various trials, that the genuineness of your faith, being much more precious than gold that perishes, though it is tested by fire, may be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ, whom having not seen you love. Though now you do not see Him, yet believing, you rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory, receiving the end of your faith - the salvation of your souls.” (1 Peter 1:3-9)

One of the benefits I have received from memorizing Scripture, including the two Scriptures below, is that when I am in a situation where I am stressed or worried about something, whether it be something about my family or myself, I say those verses in my head and it calms me, it gives me peace when chaos surrounds me:

“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6-7)

“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, even though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though its waters roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with its swelling. Selah.” (Psalm 46:1-3)

God’s word, sound words spoken of by the apostle Paul and all the apostles, all the prophets, by Moses and all who wrote books of the Bible as they were called by God and inspired by Him, and words spoken by His only begotten Son Jesus Christ, remind me that God is in control, and He has already won the war. No matter what may happen in this life, Jesus has bought me at a price - by His precious, sinless blood - and my salvation is found in Him and in Him alone.

Brothers and sisters in Christ, may we heed Paul’s words to Timothy and hold fast the pattern of sound words in faith and love, holding them close in our heart, knowing that Jesus “has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,” and that we who believe in Him will not perish and are not condemned but will receive from Jesus Christ the completion of our salvation and the crown of life. We will see a new heaven, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem created, and we will never thirst, never sorrow, and we will dwell with Him, and we shall be His people and God Himself will be our God. ✝️

June 9, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:12 - I Am Not Ashamed, For I Know Whom I Have Believed

“For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” - 2 Timothy 1:12

As I read these beautiful words of Paul the apostle, they are like a healing balm to my soul and my spirit. They calm the anxiousness inside me, in my mind. They remind me in whom I have put my trust. Is it myself? Oh no, quite the contrary, for I am here for a moment and gone the next, I am just an imperfect, sinful vessel designed and created by the Creator. Is it in my fellow man? No, for they also are created beings, just like me, and they too are imperfect and sinful, here in this life for just a brief moment in the span of eternity. Yes, I used to put my trust in myself, then other people, including governments, and then I too had a moment like Paul did when his life was completely transformed by the light of Jesus Christ. While I wasn’t persecuting Christians as Paul was, I had been putting my trust in everyone and everything else except Jesus Christ, even though I believed that I was saved in Him. I really think that it was at that moment in time when I truly turned to Jesus Christ, giving Him my heart, that I was saved by Him, that moment in my closet, on my knees crying out to Him to save me. It brings to remembrance what I would later read in the Bible as David wrote about the day God delivered him from his enemies:

“When the waves of death surrounded me, the floods of ungodliness made me afraid. The sorrows of Sheol surrounded me; the snares of death confronted me. In my distress I called upon the LORD, and cried out to my God; He heard my voice from His temple, and my cry entered His ears.” (2 Samuel 22:5-7)

Just as God had heard David’s voice when he cried out to Him, so did God hear my voice when I cried out to Him. From that moment on, I truly knew the saving power of a loving and merciful God, who called me, “child of Mine.” It also reminds me of another of my favorite Scriptures, also written by David that says:

“The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite [repentant] spirit.” (Psalm 34:18)

The apostle Paul wrote in today’s Scripture verse, “For this reason I also suffer these things; nevertheless I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day.” David, who would later go on to become King David, wrote these words:

“I sought the LORD, and He heard me, and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him and were radiant, and their faces were not ashamed. This poor man cried out, and the LORD heard him, and saved him out of all his troubles. The angel of the LORD encamps all around those who fear Him, and delivers them. Oh, taste and see that the LORD is good; blessed is the man who trusts in Him! Oh, fear the LORD, you His saints! There is no want [lack] to those who fear Him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger; but those who seek the LORD shall not lack any good thing.” (Psalm 34:6-10)

David and Paul had tasted of the goodness of the Lord our God and saw that He is good. They put their trust in Him, and so do I. They were not ashamed for putting their trust in Him, and Almighty God got them through extremely difficult circumstances. After being saved by Jesus Christ, Paul suffered many things for his faith but he never turned away from Jesus. David committed the sin of adultery with Bathsheba, a married woman, who became pregnant with his child, and had her husband Uriah the Hittite killed in war by putting him at the front line of the fiercest battle. David went on to marry Bathsheba. When confronted by the prophet Nathan about this sin, David admitted to him, “I have sinned against the LORD.” The Bible tells us, “And Nathan said to David, ‘The LORD also has put away your sin; you shall not die.” Nathan also told him that the child would die because of David’s sin because “…you have given great occasion to the enemies of the LORD to blaspheme.” (2 Samuel 12:13-14). David pleaded for his son’s life, but God did enact His judgment, and David remained faithful to God.

In this account of David, we learn that when we confess our sins to God, acknowledging that we have sinned against Him, He does forgive us. We also learn from Psalm 51 that David repented of his sins and turned back to God. He truly was sorry that he had sinned against God, not just sorry that he had gotten caught in his sin. David wrote:

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to Your lovingkindness; according to the multitude of Your tender mercies, blot out my transgressions. Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. Against You, You only, have I sinned, and done this evil in Your sight - that You may be found just when You speak, and blameless when You judge.” (Psalm 51:1-4)

“Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast me away from Your presence, and do not take Your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, and uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Then I will teach transgressors Your ways, and sinners shall be converted to You.” (Psalm 51:10-13)

God did create a clean heart in David, a heart that trusted in God through many more trials David would later have in his family and as king of Israel. As evidenced by David’s words in the beautiful book of Psalms that he wrote, he called out to the Lord, and the Lord heard him. David trusted in the Lord no matter what happened, praising God for who He is and for His love and mercy:

“But the mercy of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him, and His righteousness to children’s children, to such as keep His covenant, and to those who remember His commandments to do them. The LORD has established His throne in heaven, and His kingdom rules over all.” (Psalm 103:17-19)

David and Bathsheba would go on to have a son, Solomon, who would succeed his father David as king and the last king of united Israel before it split into two kingdoms. Solomon would build the first Jewish temple, known as Solomon’s temple. King David had wanted to build the temple for the Lord but God forbid David because he had shed blood and told him that his son would build it instead. Most importantly, Solomon continued the ancestral line of David from which Jesus the Messiah would come, as prophesied in the Bible. The apostle Paul would later write in the book of Acts:

“And afterward they [Israel] asked for a king; so God gave them Saul the son of Kish, a man of the tribe of Benjamin, for forty years. And when He had removed him, He raised up for them David as king, to whom also He gave testimony and said, ‘I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after My own heart, who will do all My will.’ From this man’s seed, according to the promise, God raised up for Israel a Savior - Jesus - after John had first preached, before His coming, the baptism of repentance to all the people of Israel.” (Acts 13:21-24)

David and Paul are just two examples in the Bible of people who did horrible, sinful things but because they confessed their sins and repented and turned to God in belief, they were saved. They were not ashamed of their faith in God, for they knew He holds the key to their salvation. They are relatable examples of two people who were just like us - sinful and in need of a Savior - who, when they turned to Him to be saved, they were. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect; rather, He expects us to be faithful to Him. When we draw near to Him, He draws near to us.

We are at a point in human history when many who profess with their mouths to be saved by Jesus Christ are now ashamed of their faith and are turning from Him, turning instead to the world in all of its shameful lusts, to their own peril. May not this be true of you, may this not be true of me. May we instead remember the One in whom we have believed and, as Paul lovingly wrote, be persuaded that no matter what happens to us on this earth, He is able to keep what we have committed to Him until that Day. Brothers and sisters, let us stand strong in the Lord and in the power of His might, remembering what our brother Paul wrote of our hope in Jesus Christ:

“But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep [died], lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. For this we say to you by the word of the Lord, that we who are alive and remain until the coming of the Lord will be no means precede those who are asleep [dead]. For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of an archangel, and with the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord. Therefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:13-18)

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober [self-controlled]. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who died for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11) ✝️

June 6, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:11 - Paul - a Preacher, Apostle, and a Teacher of the Gentiles

“…to which I was appointed a preacher, an apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles.” - 2 Timothy 1:11

The apostle Paul was nearing the end of his life, and he knew it. When he was once again imprisoned in Rome, he was encouraging Timothy, a young pastor whom Paul was teaching in the faith. He had previously told Timothy in this chapter not to be ashamed of the gospel of Jesus Christ and to share with Paul in the sufferings for the gospel. What an example we have with Paul of a life changed by Jesus Christ. He was a Jewish man who was born in the Roman city of Tarsus. Paul was not just any Jewish man but one of the Pharisees, a sect of religious leaders in the synagogues. Saul fervently persecuted the early Christians, including Stephen, who was stoned to death for his faith in Jesus Christ. Before Paul’s conversion to Christ, he was known by the name of Saul, and of Saul the Bible tells us:

“Now Saul was consenting to his [Stephen’s] death. At that time a great persecution arose against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered throughout the regions of Judea and Samaria, except the apostles. And devout men carried Stephen to his burial, and made great lamentation over him. As for Saul, he made havoc of the church, entering every house and dragging off men and women, committing them to prison.” (Acts 8:1-3)

The Bible then tells us of Saul’s desire to go and find more Christians, who at that time were people who were called followers of “the Way”:

“Then Saul, still breathing threats and murder against the disciples of the Lord, went to the high priest and asked letters from him to the synagogues of Damascus, so that if the found any who were of the Way, whether men or women, he might bring them bound to Jerusalem.” (Acts 9:1-2)

We are then told of Saul’s conversion to Christianity when he journeyed along the road to Damascus to accomplish his mission with the men who were traveling with him, when :

“…suddenly a light shone around him from heaven. Then he fell to the ground, and heard a voice saying to him, ‘Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting Me?’ And he said, ‘Who are You, Lord?’ Then the Lord said, ‘I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. It is hard for you to kick against the goads.’” (Acts 9:3-5)

Did you notice what Jesus said to Saul? Jesus said, “…why are you persecuting Me?” Persecution of the Christians was a persecution of Jesus. As Jesus had previously told His apostles:

“If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name’s sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates Me hates My Father also. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin; but now they have seen and also hated both Me and My Father. But this happened that the word might be fulfilled which is written in their law, ‘They hated Me without a cause.’” (Jesus Christ; John 15:18-25)

As Saul had witnessed the stoning of Stephen because of Stephen’s love for Jesus and Saul was now journeying to find other Christians to persecute, Jesus’ words were already being fulfilled. Let’s examine some other things that Jesus told His apostles and disciples would happen to them because of their love for Him:

“These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble. They will put you out of the synagogues; yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think that he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor Me. But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them. And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.” (Jesus Christ; John 16:1-4)

As Saul journeyed on that road to Damascus, he must have felt that he was doing God’s work in persecuting Christians, but something happened to him that he did not expect: Jesus Christ stopped him in his tracks. After Jesus asked him why was he persecuting Him, Saul had asked Jesus what he wanted him to do, and Jesus told him to go into the city and then would be told what to do from there. After Saul rose up from the ground, when he opened his eyes, he was blind; he had been blinded by the light of Jesus. The men who were with Saul had heard a voice speaking to Saul but they had seen nothing. They then led Saul into Damascus, where Saul met a disciple named Ananias, whom the Lord had told that Saul of Tarsus was coming to him and that Ananias should put his hand on Saul to restore his sight. Ananias pushed back because he had heard about this Saul of Tarsus and how he had persecuted the Christians, but the Lord said to him:

“Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.” (Jesus Christ; Acts 9:15)

Ananias did as Jesus told him to do, and when he found Saul, he laid his hands on him and when he did, Saul was filled with the Holy Spirit and his eyes were opened. Saul was then baptized. The Bible tells us that Saul then immediately began preaching in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. People who knew him or who had heard of him prior to his conversion were amazed, saying:

“‘Is this not he who destroyed those who called on this name in Jerusalem, and has come here for that purpose, so that he might bring them bound to the chief priests?’ But Saul increased all the more in strength, and confounded the Jews who dwelt in Damascus, proving that this Jesus is the Christ. (Acts 9:21-22)

Can you imagine seeing this transformation on a man that hated people who followed Jesus to then change to preaching that Jesus is the Son of God? While some people were amazed by it, others were extremely dismayed. We are then told of the Jews’ plot to kill Saul, but God prevented this from happening, for Saul was on a mission from God to tell not only the Jews of the good news of the saving power of Jesus Christ, but also the Gentiles, the non-Jews. After he had gone with Barnabus to the synagogue at Antioch to preach to the Jews, the Bible tells us that the Gentiles begged for them to preach to them about Jesus. Paul and Barnabas told the Jews that they could not be justified (saved) by keeping the law of Moses and that only Jesus could save them, but when the Jews saw all the Gentiles wanting to hear about Jesus, the Jews:

“…were filled with envy; and contradicting and blaspheming, they opposed the things spoken by Paul. Then Paul and Barnabas grew bold and said, ‘It was necessary that the word of God should be spoken to you first; but since you reject it, and judge yourselves unworthy of everlasting life, behold, we turn to the Gentiles. For so the Lord has commanded us: ‘I have set you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be for salvation to the ends of the earth.’” (Acts 13:45-47)

Paul suffered many things in his life as he carried out his mission from Jesus Christ, just as Jesus said he would. Paul would later write about one thing in particular that caused him to suffer:

“And lest I should be exalted above measure by the abundance of the revelations, a thorn in the flesh was given to me, a messenger of Satan to buffet [beat] me, lest I be exalted above measure. Concerning this thing I pleaded with the Lord three times that it might depart from me. And He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.’ Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, in reproaches, in needs, in persecutions, in distresses, for Christ’s sake. For when I am weak, then I am strong.” (2 Corinthians 12:7-10)

We don’t know what this thing was that Paul wrote about, but it sounds to me that this one thing caused Paul to keep his ego in check, and not only that, it caused him to rely on Jesus Christ when he was weak. Christ was Paul’s strength, and Paul definitely needed that when he was in prison, in his old age, writing this letter to Timothy.

How many of us believers in Christ today are like Paul, boasting in our infirmities, reproaches, needs, persecutions, and in our distresses, for Christ’s sake? As not only Paul but many of the apostles and other people in the Bible demonstrated to us, there is a purpose in our suffering: our faith in Jesus Christ is sufficient, and He is our strength when we are weak, and not only that, His strength is made perfect in it. When we finally get to that place in our lives when it’s just us and Jesus, He is our everything, and He is all that we need.

On the road to Damascus, Paul could have told Jesus that he didn’t believe in Him and that he would not do what Jesus told him to do, but he didn’t. He believed in Jesus, and he was willing to do all that Jesus told him to do. I thank our Lord Jesus that He chose Paul, a preacher, apostle, and a teacher of the Gentiles, for he is a powerful example of what a life changed by Jesus Christ looks like. Paul truly is an example to all of us that God can use anyone who is willing to share the good news of salvation through belief in Jesus Christ, even those we thought could never be used.

“‘For My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways My ways,’ says the LORD. ‘For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways, and My thoughts than your thoughts.’” (Isaiah 55:8-9) ✝️

June 4, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:10 - God's Purpose and Grace was Revealed by Jesus Christ

“…but has now been revealed by the appearing of our Savior Jesus Christ, who has abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel…” - 2 Timothy 1:10

The Bible is an amazing book. It has completely changed my life; I will never be the same. Long before I decided to read it, I was wandering through this world, trying to understand why certain things had happened to me that affected my view of society. Growing up with my parents and younger brother, life was pretty good, but all that changed in 1976 when my parents moved from California to a dry and parched land out in the country about 40 miles east of Albuquerque, New Mexico. When my parents lived in Goleta, California, not far from Santa Barbara, they had a thriving antique business and my dad was also an auctioneer. They were self-employed, as were my grandparents, who had already moved to New Mexico. After the move, my parents’ antique business went from thriving to starving as the type of antiques they sold out west were not sought after in Albuquerque. Not long after we moved, they quit their antique business and decided to try their hands at real estate. That didn’t work out either, and at some point they declared bankruptcy. I don’t remember all of the details, but I just remember that life was a struggle. About 3-4 years later, my parents divorced, and I felt like my life had ended. Though my life prior to their divorce had been hard, it was the only life I knew. Now, I watched as my mom struggled to make ends meet, all the while her heart was broken over the divorce. It was during that time that my own heart began to harden. I started listening to the women’s liberation movement and singing songs like “I Am Woman” by Helen Reddy and “I Will Survive” by Gloria Gaynor. I also started putting up walls around my heart to guard it from any future heartbreak. When something hurtful happened to me, I would just put another row of bricks around the wall of my heart, making it a little higher each time.

About two years later, I got married at a young age and then experienced all the difficulties of a marriage that was created with no solid foundation on which to make it work. I was existing, but I wasn’t truly living because there was an emptiness, a longing, inside of me that, over the years, I realized nothing could fill it, even with our beautiful children and no matter how much success I achieved in my job, no matter how many nice things I was able to buy because of my and my husband's jobs, and no matter how much I worked at becoming physically fit; the emptiness was still there. What would it take to fill it? Not only was there an emptiness inside of me, but there was also a feeling of fear. Looking back, it was this feeling of fear, the feeling of “what if this were to happen” or “what if that happened” that left me an emotional wreck, though I might have seemed to “have it all together” on the outside. After 9/11 happened, I was even more fearful, especially over the future of our two young children and what it held for them. But the emptiness inside of me was even more powerful than the fear inside of me, and it drove me to do something I had done a few times before but had always failed at doing: to read the entire Bible for myself.

I started on this journey of reading the Bible with an open mind, thinking there probably is a God but not knowing much more than that. I remember reading in Genesis and struggling with the genealogies, not realizing then the importance of them, as they recorded the family lines that would eventually be traced to Jesus Christ. I remember reading some things that were difficult, such as when God eventually dealt with sin after giving people much time to turn from it and to turn to Him.

I remember reading the book of Job and really having a hard time reading all the excruciating things that Job went through, losing all he had, seeing all of his children die, having his friends point at him as the reason it was all happening because he must have committed some horrible sin and he was being punished by God for it. Even Job’s wife’s words must have been like a knife to the heart when she told her husband, “Do you still hold fast to your integrity? Curse God and die!” (Job 2:9) What was Job’s response to her? Did he say that he agreed with her and curse God? “But he said to her, ‘You speak as one of the foolish women speaks. Shall we indeed accept good from God, and shall we not accept adversity?’ In all this Job did not sin with his lips.” (Job 2:10)

Job did not know that before all this happened, God had been talking to Satan about Job, saying, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, one who fears God and shuns evil?” (Job 1:8) Satan then told God that the only reason Job was like that was because God had put a hedge of protection around him, his family, and all that he had and had blessed Job abundantly and if it were all to be removed, then Job would “surely curse You to Your face!” (Job 1:11). God then told Satan, “Behold, all that he has is in your power; only do not lay a hand on his person.” (Job 1:12). Job went through all that Satan had put him through, and which God had allowed. Job felt all alone in the world, asking God why all this was happening to him. Job regretted the day he was born, for he was in so much sorrow and pain. How many of us have felt that way, like we are all alone, with no one to help us? I can tell you that I have felt that way many times in my life, and many times I blamed God for my situation, for my pain, for my feeling of being trapped, with nowhere to go.

But Job never cursed God. He continued to pray to God, pouring out his heart to Him, including in this prayer:

“My spirit is broken, my days are extinguished, the grave is ready for me. Are not mockers with me? And does not my eye dwell on their provocation? (Job 17:1-2)

Through the tears, through the pain, Job cried out to God, never once saying that he was done with God and would trust in Him no more. Oh, no, the opposite is true; Job continued to trust in God even though he did not understand why all of these horrible things had happened to him and why God was allowing it to happen. I love what he said in the verses below:

“Oh, that my words were written! Oh, that they were inscribed in a book! That they were engraved on a rock with an iron pen and lead, forever! “ (Job 19:23-24)

Praise God that we DO have Job’s words written in a book that will stand forever! We have Job’s example that it’s okay if we ask God why He is allowing these things to happen to us, that as Job did, we should call out to God and pray to Him when we are fearful, when we are hurting, when we feel that we are all alone in our sorrow and pain and that perhaps God has forgotten us. God doesn’t expect us to be perfect, and He wants to hear from us, just as He heard from Job.

Job had many conversations with God, with God revealing to Job that His ways are not our ways. He is holy, and we are not. He is all powerful, all knowing, and all present, and we are not. He created everything there is, and we did not. How can we understand all that God does when we are not Him? The answer is we simply cannot understand but we must trust in God in all seasons in our life, in the good times and the bad times. Contrary to what many churches teach, God did not put us on this earth to provide us with all the comforts that life has to offer us and to keep us from going through tragedies and sorrows in this world. That is a false, prosperity god that is being taught. No, God put us on this world to see that we need Him in our lives to help us through the difficult times, to walk with Him through those times and cry out to Him, and most importantly to see that we need His only begotten Son Jesus Christ to redeem us of all our sins, because we absolutely cannot save ourselves, only Jesus can. At the end of the book of Job, Job again acknowledged who God is, not just hearing Him but seeing Him truly as He is - Almighty God - and he repented of his sins:

“Then Job answered the LORD and said: ‘I know that You can do everything, and that no purpose of Yours can be withheld from You. You asked, “Who is this who hides counsel without knowledge?” Therefore I have uttered what I did not understand, things too wonderful for me, which I did not know. Listen, please, and let me speak; You said, “I will question you, and you shall answer Me.” I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You. Therefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes.’” (Job 42:1-6)

After Job repented, God told Job’s three friends to go and take a burnt offering to His servant Job and Job would pray for them, “because you have not spoken of Me what is right, as My servant Job has.” (Job 42:8) Job did pray for his three friends and the Bible tells us that “God restored Job’s losses.” (Job 42:10) God blessed Job with ten more children and restored all that he had, even more so, and all his family and acquaintances comforted him.

I have to admit that I had to read the book of Job three times before I understood its meaning. I believe that God was working on my own heart between the times that I read it. I think the most difficult thing for me to do in my walk with God over the years has been to trust in Him, no matter what. That is what the book of Job has taught me, and it was only when I walked with God, cried out to Him, and even questioned why He was allowing the sorrows and pain in my own life to happen, that it was during that time that I saw that there was a purpose in my suffering, and that purpose pointed to Jesus Christ, my Redeemer. I myself needed to repent - which means to turn from my sin and turn to Jesus Christ, trusting in Him for my salvation, and I did. And now, I echo the words beautifully spoken by Job in his time of sorrow but a time when he trusted in the Lord when everyone else had abandoned him:

“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns with me!” (Job 19:25-27)

Job knew that His God is a living God and that one day He will stand on the earth. Job also knew that one day he himself would be resurrected from the dead and would receive his glorified, new body and would see God with his own eyes, and Job longed for that day. The same is true for us, and those who have been saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of all our sins, and we will be resurrected and receive our glorified bodies and will live in eternity with Him. But for all who have not accepted Jesus’ free gift of salvation, they will spend their eternity separated from Him in a place called hell, a real place that Jesus spoke of many times when He walked the earth, that is a place of torment and eternal sorrow and pain.

Before I finish today’s devotional, I ask you: If you have not received the grace of God through the free gift of salvation by trusting in Jesus Christ, will you put your faith and trust in Him today, before it’s too late and you take your last breath as you exit through the door of your temporary life and enter the door of your eternity? Jesus told us He is the way, the truth, and the life and that no one comes to the Father except through Him. Is He knocking on the door of your heart? Will you let Him in? Jesus wants you to turn to Him, for He loves you more than you could ever know.

“Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and dine with him, and he with Me.” (Jesus Christ; Revelation 3:20)

Reading the Bible truly changed my life. It pointed me to Jesus and my need for Him. And now, that emptiness inside of me that could not be filled with anything on this earth, has been filled with Him, and I know that my Redeemer lives. ✝️

June 1, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:9 - God Had a Plan of Salvation Before Time Began

“…who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began…” - 2 Timothy 1:9

God had a plan of salvation from the very beginning, before time had even begun. God called Moses to write the Law, and God called the prophets to prophesy of the coming Messiah, both of which pointed to His plan of salvation: grace through faith in Jesus Christ.

Jesus had given up His life on the cross after having been crucified and now it was three days later after He had risen from the dead, fulfilling what He had previously told His disciples. That same day as He had risen, there were two of His disciples who were walking on the road to Emmaus and they were discussing all that had happened regarding Jesus. Jesus came to them, but they did not know it was Him, and asked them what they were talking about and why they were sad. They told Him that Jesus “was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people” and told Him that the chief priests and rulers of the Jews had had Him crucified. They told Jesus, “But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.” They told Him about the women who had come to Jesus’ tomb earlier that day but did not find the body of Jesus and had seen a vision of angels who had told them that Jesus was alive. They told Him that some who were with them had gone to the tomb but did not see Jesus. That is why they were sad. Did you notice that they said they “were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel”? They had given up hope. Though they had heard and seen the things that Jesus had done, and yet, after He died and they didn’t see Him with their own eyes, they no longer believed that He was the One. They had given up hope. Their eyes were closed to the truth.

“Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.” (Luke 24:25-27)

Can you imagine hearing Jesus explain to them all the Scriptures and prophecies in the Old Testament that pointed to Him, the coming Messiah, who now had come, was crucified, died, and rose again? Let us recall some of these prophecies of Jesus:

“The LORD your God will raise up for you a Prophet like me from your midst, from your brethren. Him you shall hear…” (Deuteronomy 18:15)

“I will raise up for them a Prophet like you from among their brethren, and will put My words in His mouth, and He shall speak to them all that I command Him.” (Deuteronomy 18:18)

“Therefore the Lord Himself will give you a sign: Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a Son, and shall call His name Immanuel.” (Isaiah 7:14)

“For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; and the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace there will be no end, upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, to order it and establish it with judgment and justice from that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.” (Isaiah 9:6-7)

As they came to the place they were going to, Jesus told them that He was going to continue walking but they asked Him to come and stay with them, and Jesus did. Jesus ate with them, and then the Bible tells us, “Now it came to pass, as He sat at the table with them, that He took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them.”

“Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’” (Luke 24:31-32)

I love how it says, “Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us.” We too can have that same feeling, that same longing for Him, that same assurance within our hearts when we read His word for ourselves through the power of the Holy Spirit. When I read from the Old Testament the prophecies of Jesus coming to earth to offer salvation for all who believe in Him, my heart burns, for I know deep within my heart that it is all true, every word of God, and it all points to Him, from Genesis to Revelation. These two men who walked with Jesus and listened to Him tell of the Scriptures that pointed to Him reminds me of the psalm,“Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Psalm 119:105). Though He is not physically here with me, His word is, and it guides me through my path in this life. His light reminds me that the darkness will not win, for He has overcome.

Let us read Psalm 2, which is profound in its prophecy of Jesus:

“Why do the nations rage, and the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together, against the LORD and against His Anointed [Messiah], saying, ‘Let us break Their bonds in pieces and cast away Their cords from us.’ He who sits in the heavens shall laugh; the Lord shall hold them in derision. Then He shall speak to them in His wrath, and distress them in His deep displeasure: ‘Yet I have set My King on My holy hill of Zion. I will declare the decree: the LORD has said to Me, “You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for Your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron; you shall dash them to pieces like a potter’s vessel.”’ Now therefore, be wise, O kings; be instructed, you judges of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear, and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son, lest He be angry, and you perish in the way, when His wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are those who put their trust in Him.” (Psalm 2)

Are not the nations raging in our world today, and the world rulers, those who call themselves the “elite,” are plotting a vain thing? They believe that God does not exist and deny His Son Jesus Christ, and yet they believe themselves to be “gods.” They persecute those who believe in Jesus and call them fools for believing in His word, the Bible. This psalm tells us what will become of those who are against His Anointed, and it’s not going to end well for them. But for those of us who are in Christ, we are blessed because we have put our trust in Him; Jesus is our only hope.

Salvation through faith in Jesus Christ was the plan from the beginning of time. God used the people He chose Himself - the Jews - to show mankind that no matter how perfect, no matter how “good” one might think he is, there is nothing we could ever, ever do that could redeem us from all our sins. The Law that God gave the Jews was to reveal to us the depths of our sinfulness and that it took the precious blood of His only Begotten Son Jesus Christ to wash us clean of our sins to all who choose to believe, to put their trust, in Him. The Law revealed our sin and the Son redeems us of our sin, but we must first choose to believe in Him, Jesus our Redeemer. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, a Jewish Pharisee, a ruler of the Jews:

“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. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe in Him is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:16-18)

The key word in this passage of Scripture is “believe.” God sent Jesus on a rescue mission to provide the way - the only way - for mankind to be saved from all its sin. However, as with any rescue mission, it is up to each and every one of us to decide whether or not we want to be rescued. If we are in a burning building and firemen come to take us out of the fire, it is our decision whether or not to remain in the fire or to escape from it. If we are drowning in an ocean and a lifeguard comes to us, extending his hand to us to pull us out of the depths of the sea, it is up to his to take his hand or to reject it. God gave us free will, with the decision of whether or not to believe in Jesus, resting on our shoulders. God wants all of us to be saved, but He won’t force us to believe. His offer of salvation is His love for you, personified by His Son Jesus Christ. Will you take His hand or will you reject it? No greater love was ever known than the love that Jesus has for us.

“In this the love of God was manifested toward us, the tGod has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:9-10) ✝️

May 28, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:8 - Do Not Be Ashamed of the Testimony of Our Lord

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me His prisoner, but share with me in the sufferings for the gospel according to the power of God…” - 2 Timothy 1:8

As it was in Paul’s time, so it is in our time that we are persecuted for our faith in Jesus Chris, and many of us will suffer for it, with some suffering tremendously, even to the point of death, as it was with the apostle Paul. Here Paul was in prison, possibly in Rome, writing to Timothy, one whom Paul was mentoring in the faith, to encourage Timothy and remind him that he would be attacked for his faith but that he must endure until the end, for our reward is with Christ.

Let us consider what is “the testimony of our Lord” that Paul wrote about in today’s Scripture verse. In chapter 19 verses 7-10 of the book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible of which its writer, the apostle John, said is “The Revelation of Jesus Christ, which God gave Him to show the servants - things which must shortly [quickly or swiftly] take place” (Revelation 1:1), it states:

“Let us be glad and rejoice and give Him glory; for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His wife has made herself ready. And to her it was granted to be arrayed in fine linen, clean and bright, for the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Then he said to me, ‘Write: Blessed are those who are called to the marriage supper of the Lamb!’ And he said to me, ‘These are the true sayings of God.’ And I fell at his feet to worship him. But he said to me, ‘See that you do not do that! I am your fellow servant, and of your brethren who have the testimony of Jesus. Worship God! For the testimony of Jesus is the spirit of prophecy.’” (Revelation 19:7-10)

The purpose of Bible prophecy is to point us to Jesus Christ, and there are prophecies of Him from the very beginning, in the book of Genesis, including in Genesis 3:15 when it was prophesied that the devil, also called Satan, would bruise Jesus’ heel but Jesus would bruise his head. This happened when Jesus was crucified on the cross, when a nail was driven though His heel, and Jesus gave up His life. The devil thought he had won, but Jesus didn’t stay dead; oh no, He rose again, resurrected, and is at the right hand of God today, until He will call up His church to Him in the rapture and will begin the 7-year tribulation period by taking the scroll from the right hand of God the Father and open the seven seals on the scroll. And, as prophesied in Revelation 20:10, Jesus will eventually defeat the devil and will cast him into the lake of fire and brimstone, where he will be tormented forever. It is no surprise that the devil doesn’t want us to read the book of Revelation for two reasons: first, we will read of his ultimate demise and second, it is the only book of the Bible that comes with a blessing to those who read it and hear what it has to say and keeps or remembers the things written in it (Revelation 1:3).

The prophecies about Jesus are all throughout the Bible, showing us that we are all sinners in need of a Savior and that there is nothing “good” that we could ever do that could save us from our sins once and for all. Remember what Jesus said before He gave up His life on the cross? He said: “It is finished!” (John 19:30). He did it once and for all so that by His precious, sinless blood, we can be saved from all our sins by believing He is the Christ, the One sent by God to offer salvation to all who would choose to believe, to trust, in Him for our salvation. We don’t need to follow the Mosaic Law that God gave the Jews in the Old Testament, we don’t need to sacrifice animals to atone for our sins; no, Jesus is the Lamb of God who came to take away the sins of the world, once and for all, for all who choose to believe in Him as their Savior.

When we are saved by believing in Him as our Savior, we are sealed by His Holy Spirit:

“In Him [Jesus] 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)

What did Jesus testify of Himself when He was here on the earth the first time? Let us examine some Scriptures:

“Then Jesus cried out, as He taught in the temple, saying, ‘You both know Me, and you know where I am from; and I have not come of Myself, but He who sent Me is true, whom you do not know. But I know Him, for I am from Him, and He sent Me.’” (John 7:28-29)

“It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life.” (John 6:63)

“I am One who bears witness of Myself, and the Father who sent Me bears witness of Me.” (John 8:18)

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘When you lift up [crucify] the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and that I do nothing of Myself; but as My Father taught Me, I speak these things. And He who sent Me is with Me. The Father has not left Me alone, for I always do those things that please Him.’” (John 8:28-29)

“I and My Father are one.” (John 10:30)

“Jesus answered, ‘If I honor Myself, My honor is nothing. It is My Father who honors Me, of whom you say that He is your God. Yet you have not known Him, but I know Him. And if I say, “I do not know Him,” I shall be a liar like you; but I do know Him and keep His word. Your father Abraham rejoiced to see My day, and he saw it and was glad.’” (John 8:54-56)

“He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My father will honor.” (John 12:25-26)

“Now this is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. And I, if I am lifted up [crucified] from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” (John 12:31-32)

It all comes down to this:

“And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of Man be lifted up [crucified], that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have eternal life. 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. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” (John 3:14-19)

There is one way to salvation from all sins and it’s not by our good works, it is not by believing in any false religion this world has to offer, it is not by pretending that sin isn’t sin and that there is no heaven and hell, that there is no one true God; the one way to salvation is through Jesus Christ, and it is a narrow way. Every single one of us will go one way - either the broad way or the narrow way:

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 7:13-14)

Notice in the Scripture above, Jesus said, “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” Just as Jesus suffered on this earth when He taught the truth of God to those who didn’t want the truth and was hated and suffered at the hands of sinful men and women, so too will we suffer for our belief in Him. The truth of God is not meant to puff us up with pride and make us feel good about our sins. Oh no, that is what Satan does, and the majority of the world loves him for it, whether they realize it or not. Sadly, this extends to most churches that take great precautions not to offend anyone. I am here to tell you that like it or not, our sin is extremely offensive to God and because of our sin, we are not allowed to enter into His eternal kingdom if we have any sin in us. The only way we can be cleansed of all of our sins is by believing in His Son Jesus Christ, who washes us clean from all sins. But, to a lost and dying world that loves sin more than it loves God, the Bible is offensive and it is intended to be. Jesus even told us:

“Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth. I did not come to bring peace but a sword. For I have come to ‘set a man against his father; a daughter against her mother; and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s enemies will be those of his own household.’” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 10:34-36)

Jesus knew that the truth of God would divide people, and have we ever seen the world more divided than now? The spiritual war that is being waged for the human soul is rising to a level that I would venture to say has never been seen before. I think God is giving us these last moments in human history before the start of the tribulation period to rock us to our core to see that we are lost in our sins without Jesus and that He is our only hope so that we would turn to Him and be saved.

The writer of Hebrews describes the word of God - Jesus Christ - as the One who discerns our thoughts and the intents of our heart:

“For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.” (Hebrews 4:12-13)

The apostle John wrote of the Word:

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” (John 1:1-5)

“And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth.” (John 1:14)

We are born with sin in us, inherited from Adam and Eve. The Bible tells us the wages of sin is death, meaning if we remain in our sin when we die, we will take that sin with us not only into death but also into our eternal life. I think it is becoming clearer now, even to the unbelieving world, that there is a spiritual war being waged across the world and that war is intensifying as we draw oh so close to the rapture of the church, the revealing of the final antichrist, and the time when he will reign upon the earth for a period of seven years in a time known as the time of Jacob’s trouble, also known as the tribulation period. Sadly, many people who once professed to be Christians are turning away from their faith, they are ashamed of the testimony of our Lord Jesus Christ. They love their sin more than they love God.

As Christ suffered for preaching the truth of God, so shall we, but our temporary sufferings on this earth are nothing compared to the glory that awaits us, when we are Home with our beloved Savior. We do this not in our own power but in the power and might of our Lord Jesus Christ (Ephesians 6:10). The apostle Paul suffered so very much for our Lord, but he never was ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, and he never gave up hope. Brothers and sisters in Christ as we await our Savior’s upward call, let us remember and heed the words of the apostle Paul, our dear brother in Christ:

“For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes, for the Jew first and also for the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written, “The just shall live by faith.” (Romans 1:16-17)

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? As it is written:

‘For Your sake we are killed all day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter.’

“Yet in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35-39) ✝️

May 24, 2023: 2 Timothy 1:7 - God Has Not Given Us a Spirit of Fear

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.” - 2 Timothy 1:7

What is the thing or person that you fear the most? Is it a fear that something will happen to a family member or to you? Is it a fear of going to war? Is it a fear of not being able to pay your bills or not being able to feed your family? If you are a young person, do you fear not being liked and accepted by your friends? Whatever it is that you fear, fear will drive us to do things we normally will not do. Misplaced fear puts our lives in jeopardy, and not only our temporary lives here on earth but more importantly, our eternal lives after we exit this life and enter our permanent life. Consider your life over the past three years when COVID hit. What caused you to fear? Was it a virus? Was it fearing you could lose your job if you didn’t do certain things you were told you must to do in order to keep it? Looking back now, three years later, if you did something then that you wouldn’t do now, knowing all that you know, what caused you to act the way that you did at that time? If you are saved by the blood of Jesus Christ and believe in Him as your Savior and have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, were you guided by Him or were you guided by your fear?

When we act on our feelings because we are fearful of something, we are more inclined to make bad decisions. I am definitely guilty of doing this. But when we are saved by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we have something that those who are not saved do not have and that is the Holy Spirit dwelling within us. Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Helper” or the “Comforter” who “will teach you all things” (John 14:26) and who “will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak ;and He will tell you things to come.” (John 16:13). When we have the Holy Spirit within us, we have Him to help us to understand the Bible when we read it for ourselves. But we must read it to understand it; if it is just another book that sits on a bookshelf or on a coffee table, it doesn’t do us any good. It is critical now, more than ever in the times in which we are living, that we read the Bible for ourselves and let the Holy Spirit guide us into all truth because deception is at an all time high, not just in our country but all over the world.

I believe we truly are living in the very last days before the rapture of the church, when Jesus calls up to Himself in the clouds all who died as believers in Him as well as those who believers who are alive at that time (see 1 Thessalonians 4-15-18 and 1 Corinthians 15-50-54). After that, I believe the final antichrist will step on the world scene, confirm a covenant/treaty with Israel and other nations that will last seven years, and the 7-year tribulation period, also called the “time of Jacob’s trouble,” (Jeremiah 30:7) will begin. Based on what the Bible says, particularly in the prophetic books of Daniel and Revelation, there is soon coming a tyrannical government such has never been seen in the world, nor ever will be seen again. It will make the lockdowns in 2020 look like child’s play. If you were fearful then, what will you do when it happens again, only so much worse? Will you stray from your faith, perhaps thinking that God doesn’t exist? As I am writing this devotional on May 22, 2023, a headline popped up on my phone: “Only half of Americans now say they believe in God.” (See: https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/4012827-does-god-exist-only-half-of-americans-say-a-definite-yes/). At a time in history when it is absolutely critical not to be led by our feelings but to be led by the word of God by the power of the Holy Spirit, is it any wonder that the United States is in such turmoil? Skyrocketing lawlessness, no respect for human life, especially with the unborn, increasing rates of depression and suicidal thoughts, drug use on the rise and the legalization of drugs that for many years were deemed illegal, sexual immorality, confusion, and perversion, and it goes on and on. Is it any wonder that we in the USA are seeing all of these problems increase when at least half of us don’t even believe that God exists? Add to that, you have powerful men and women trying to be gods - false gods - themselves and/or trying to create their own “gods” through artificial intelligence, which is becoming an increasing threat to humanity’s existence at lightning speed. Can you see that everything is converging and that it is only by the power of God and His loving restraint that everything hasn’t been set on fire yet?

The book of Daniel describes this tyrannical government as the fourth beast in a dreadful vision Daniel had. Daniel’s vision of the three other beasts that describe the Babylonian, Medo-Persian, and Greek Empires have been fulfilled with stunning accuracy, so much so that there are people who refute that the book was written in the 6th century BC and say instead it was written in the 2nd century BC. For a response to these claims, see: https://www.spiritandtruth.org/teaching/documents/articles/34/34-contents.htm.

The fourth beast Daniel wrote about represents not only the Roman Empire that did in fact come into power, as Daniel envisioned, but also a future revived version of it. We have already seen a precursor of this revived version of it with the European Union.

In the book of Daniel, it tells us that Daniel’s vision was interpreted by someone we only know as “one of those who stood by.” (Daniel 7:16) Whomever it was described this fourth beast:

“The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall persecute the saints of the Most High, and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.” (Daniel 7:23-25)

Many believers in Christ who read and study Bible prophecy, myself included, believe the person who is described above as rising after the ten kings and subduing three of them is the final antichrist, who will persecute believers in Christ who are alive at that time - those who will become believers in Christ after the rapture occurs and will be martyred for their faith in Jesus.

Antichrist, also called “the beast” in the book of Revelation (Revelation 13:1), “the man of sin” and the “son of perdition” in 2 Thessalonians 2:3, and the “lawless one” shown in the Scripture below, will be empowered by Satan:

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-10)

The Jewish nation of Israel will be willingly deceived by the antichrist. Israel will confirm the 7-year covenant with antichrist at the start of the tribulation period, believing he is their friend and ally. I believe that either prior to or not long after the covenant is confirmed, antichrist will inform Israel that it can build its long-hoped for third Jewish Temple, and it will likely be built in just several months’ time. Preparations for this third temple have been in the works since 1987 by the Jewish Temple Movement. 3-1/2 years into the 7-year time of Jacob’s trouble, antichrist will commit the abomination of desolation as prophesied by Daniel in Daniel 9:27 and referenced by Jesus in Matthew 24:15. Antichrist will force the Jews to stop sacrificing in their third temple, and he will do something so disgusting that it is called an “abomination,” which is defined by dictionary.com as, “a vile, shameful, or detestable action, condition, habit, etc.” It will be at that time, finally, that the Jews will recognize who antichrist really is and will flee for their lives. This will start the last 3-1/2 years of the tribulation period, referred to by Jesus as the “great tribulation”:

“For then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 24:21-22)

As I quoted the Scripture a couple of paragraphs above from 2 Thessalonians 2:9-10, the Bible also tells us that those who were deceived by antichrist through the power of Satan will perish “because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.” And, read this:

“And for this reason God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:11-12)

They will reject the truth of God because they love their sin and want to remain in it, will willingly be deceived; consequently, God will send them strong delusion. This is the complete opposite of having a sound mind, as Paul wrote about in today’s Scripture verse. When one chooses to reject the truth of God to believe the lies of Satan, because God gave us free will and did not make us robots, He gives us what we want. Sadly, most people don’t want the truth; rather, they want lies that sound good and make them comfortable in their sin, such as all roads lead to heaven, or one is “good enough” to get into heaven, or God isn’t real and when you die, nothing happens. Satan will tell you anything you want to hear to keep you deceived and to keep you from turning to God and believing in His Son Jesus Christ to redeem you of all your sins, to wash you clean by His precious blood. Why? Because Satan hates God, and he hates humanity because we, unlike angels, are the only ones made in the image of God. Satan wants to bring you and billions of people with him to hell, for eternity. Satan wants to be God, but he never will be, and eventually he will know that God will not be mocked. The book of Revelation, the last book of the Bible, tells us Satan’s future:

“The devil, who deceived them, was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone where the beast [antichrist] and the false prophet [a religious leader working with antichrist during the 7-year tribulation period] are. And they will be tormented day and night forever and ever.” (Revelation 20:10)

Sadly, this is where most people will end up because they chose to reject the truth of God and believed the lie of Satan.

For believers in Christ, we have God’s word, the Holy Bible, that tells us what is going to happen before it happens. It told us that Jesus - the Messiah - was going to come the first time to offer salvation from sins for all who choose to believe in Him, trusting in Him for their salvation, and He did come, exactly as the Bible prophesied, with such specificity it is beyond any human’s ability and absolutely is the divine word of God. The Bible also tells of a rapture of the church that is caught up to Jesus before the start of the tribulation period, and of His second coming, when He “treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” (Revelation 19:15) and defeats all those who will have rejected God and embraced Satan. It also tells when Jesus will finally set up his kingdom, which will never pass away:

”I was watching in the night visions, and behold, One like the Son of Man, coming with the clouds of heaven! He came to the Ancient of Days, and they brought Him near before Him. Then to Him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve Him. His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and His kingdom the one which shall not be destroyed.” (Daniel 7:13-14)

God has given us His word that by reading it, we will know what is to come. People who were born thousands of years ago had what we now call the Old Testament, the time when God’s people - Israel - were told about their coming Messiah, Jesus Christ. At the time of Jesus’ birth, people were alive and some were looking for Messiah, but just like today, most rejected Him. Today, we have God’s word that includes both the Old and New Testaments that contain hundreds of prophecies that are still to come to pass. As we come clearer to those prophecies being fulfilled, those things that didn’t make sense a hundred or even a few years ago are beginning to make sense. For example, would you have ever thought that the sovereign nations of the entire world would be willing to cede their authority to one person, a one-world leader? What just happened during COVID when the entire world was locked down because a few global leaders said we needed to? Would you have ever thought that technology would be in place that would accommodate a mark of the beast system that requires all people to have a mark on their right hand or their forehead in order to buy or sell? People are already being conditioned to accept this, such as with Amazon’s “Amazon One” payment system where you “use your palm to pay at a store…” (See: https://one.amazon.com). What kind of technology would be required to enforce a mark of the beast system to track all buying and selling of every single person on the planet? Once we move to a digital system of money that replaces all cash - literally removes it from every single country - and everything is digital, it means every single purchase can be tracked and it also means it can be restricted. I would go as far to say that within a year or less, every single nation will be on the Central Bank Digital Currency/equivalent and cash will be gone. Are we not already being prepared for this? On April 6, 2023, a bill in the USA was passed to the Senate to support “reliable, interoperable digital identity verification in the public and private sectors.” (See: https://www.globalgovernmentforum.com/us-digital-identity-bill-passes-through-to-senate/). Is this moving us closer to or further away from a mark of the beast system?

The Bible tells us that those who take the mark of the beast must also worship the image of the beast. How is it possible to enforce this worship by every single person on the planet? The Bible says, “that the image of the beast should both speak and cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast to be killed.” (Revelation 13:15) Could it be that this image may be a hologram that is projected in the eyesight of every single person, such as with an augmented-reality (AR) headset (See: https://screenrant.com/iphone-discontinued-replaced-apple-ar-future-plan-claims/) and that AI-type technology will sense, perhaps by something that is injected into every person, when that person is not worshiping the image and will do something within that person to cause them to die? Is any of this that far-fetched? I venture to say that it is not. The capabilities of technology and AI are increasing at such a worrisome pace that even some technology leaders have called for a 6-month pause on AI advances (see: https://www.npr.org/2023/03/29/1166896809/tech-leaders-urge-a-pause-in-the-out-of-control-artificial-intelligence-race).

I think of all the things that have happened in the past 100 years that related to Bible prophecy being fulfilled was the reestablishment of the Jewish state of Israel. After all, how could there be a third temple in Israel that Jews would go to in order to worship and perform their sacrifices unless the Jews were back in their homeland of Israel? This was only made possible when the Jewish nation of Israel was reborn after WWII on May 14, 1948 and after it regained control of Jersualem in the Six Day War in 1967.

Everything the Bible prophesied about in the end times is being set up, and when the 7-year tribulation period begins, it will literally be hell on earth. If you are an unbeliever and were filled with fear three years ago when COVID hit, I warn you that you haven’t seen anything yet; COVID was just a beta test of the real thing that is yet to come. It was a test to see who would be filled with fear and submit to whatever we were told to do, even reporting neighbors and friends who would not comply with mask mandates. Now, even the New York Times reported that mask mandates made no difference (https://www.nytimes.com/2023/02/21/opinion/do-mask-mandates-work.html). How many families were divided and friendships ended over controversial injection requirements, where the injections were fast-tracked and did not undergo typical clinical trials of prior injections and were not pulled from shelves after many reports of adverse events from people who had received the injections, such as prior vaccines with poor outcomes had been pulled in the past? Why did the CDC change its definition of “vaccine”? (See: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/coronavirus/article254111268.html).

It’s not important if you believe me or not. What I care about is your soul and where you are going when you die. That is why I take the time to write these devotionals, to warn people about what is coming, based on what the Bible prophecies, and to give them the good news of salvation from all sins through believing in Jesus Christ. I write them when I know that few people, if any, are reading them. My hope is that if they aren’t reading them now, perhaps they will stumble upon them one day and read them at that time.

I even ask you to do this if you don’t believe me: print this, save it for a year, and in one year, go back and read it and see what has changed in a year’s time. I pray first and foremost that by that time, you will have put your faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save you from all your sins. But if not, then see if what I said matches up to what is happening at that time, and please know, I base everything on what I have written on my understanding of what the word of God says; I am not a prophet, rather, just a believer in Christ who doesn’t want anyone to have to go through the tribulation period or go to hell when they die. If it does match up, then ask yourself, how did she know this? Could it be that the Bible is in fact the word of God and that everything that is prophesied in it will happen exactly as God said it would?

For believers in Christ, we should not have a spirit of fear when it comes to the end times because His word is given to us that we may read it and know what is going to happen before it happens. When we do that, it prepares us spiritually, mentally, and emotionally and gives us confidence in Him and His promises. Let us read and remember some of His promises:

• “For I, the LORD your God, will hold your right hand, saying to you, ‘Fear not, I will help you.’” (Isaiah 41:13)

• “Say to those who are fearful-hearted, ‘Be strong, do not fear! Behold, your God will come with vengeance, with the recompense of God; He will come and save you.’” (Isaiah 35:4)

• “Have I not commanded you? Be strong and of good courage; do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:9)

• “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also. And where I go you know, and the way you know.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:1-4)

• “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:18)

• “Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

• “And this is the promise that He has promised us - eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.” (1 John 1:25-27)

• “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever. Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

• “Finally, my brethren, be strong in the Lord and in the power of His might. Put on the whole armor of God that you may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:10-11)

• “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” (1 John 3:23)

Let us remember whom Jesus told us we should fear:

“And I say to you, My friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body, and after that have no more that they can do. But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear Him who, after He has killed, has power to cast into hell; yes, I say to you, fear Him!” (Jesus Christ; Luke 12:4-5)

Why did Jesus say this? How many pastors in churches today refuse to quote this Scripture verse because they are worried it might offend people? Why did Jesus say it? Because He doesn’t want anyone to go to hell. He loves you and wants you to turn to Him and believe in Him as the only one who can save your from all your sins and give you eternal life.

There comes a point when a person has rejected Jesus so many times that He gives people over to what they want, and at that point, they will no longer have a sound mind. The book of Romans chapter 1 says three times that God gives them over:

“Therefore God also gave them up to uncleanness, in the lusts of their hearts, to dishonor their bodies among themselves, who exchanged the truth of God for the lie, and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever. Amen.” (Romans 1:24-25)

“For this reason God gave them up to vile passions. For even their women exchanged the natural use for what is against nature.” (Romans 1:26)

“And even as they did not like to retain God in their knowledge, God gave them over to a debased mind, to do those things which are not fitting…” (Romans 1:28)

I believe these are the same people whom we read about in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 who will be deceived by the antichrist when he comes and God will send them strong delusion. I believe we are seeing a precursor to this already, in a world that seems like many people have gone mad, they have lost their minds.

In the end, it all comes down to one thing: are you with Jesus or are you against Him? We who are with Him place our fear in Him, for He has the power to cast into hell, but because we are saved by Him, we will not go there when we die but will be with Him for eternity. Because we are saved by believing in Him, we have the power of the Holy Spirit within us, and we love our brothers and sisters in Christ. We have a sound mind because we know Him - Jesus - by reading His word and praying to Him, and we will not be given over to a debased mind. May we not fear what is to come upon this unbelieving world but have confidence in Him, Jesus the Christ, our blessed Redeemer:

“Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid. You have heard Me say to you, ‘I am going away and coming back to you.’ If you loved Me, you would rejoice because I said, ‘I am going to the Father,’ for My Father is greater than I. And now I have told you before it comes, that when it does come to pass, you may believe.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:27-29) ✝️

May 19, 2023: 2 Peter 3:18 - Let Us Grow in Him and Give Him Glory

“…but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory both now and forever. Amen.” - 2 Peter 3:18

The apostle Peter wrote this second epistle knowing that he would soon die, as he wrote about in 2 Peter 1:14. What an example we have in Peter of someone who grew in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ! Let us remember the moment when Peter, who was then called Simon, and his brother Andrew were fishermen in their boats, first saw Jesus, who told them, “Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch.” (Luke 5:4) Simon told Jesus they had been fishing all night and had not caught any fish but he would do as Jesus said. When Simon and Andrew did as Jesus said, they caught so many fish that their net began to break. “When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus’ knees, saying, ‘Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!’ (Luke 5:8) “Then He said to them, ‘Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.’ They immediately left their nets and followed Him.” (Matthew 4:18-20)

Peter was the first of the twelves apostles to acknowledge that Jesus is the Christ:

“When Jesus came into the region of Caesarea Philippi, He asked His disciples, saying, ‘Who do men say that I, the Son of Man, am?’ So they said, ‘Some say John the Baptist, some Elijah, and others Jeremiah or one of the prophets.’ He said to them, ‘But who do you say that I am?’ Simon Peter answered and said, ‘You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.’ Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Blessed are you, Simon Bar-Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you, but My Father who is in heaven. And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades shall not prevail against it. And I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.’” (Matthew 16:13-20)

Peter was in the inner circle of Jesus’ apostles, along with James and John. They were present when Jesus was transfigured on the mountain (Matthew 17:1). Along with Peter’s fellow apostles, they saw Jesus perform many miracles. They walked and talked with Jesus, they ate with Him, shared the Passover meal with Him three times, including when Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper the night before His death. Peter was in the boat with the other apostles during a severe storm when they saw Jesus walking on water toward them. Peter was the only one who took a leap of faith when encouraged by Jesus to come to Him, to walk on water, until fear filled him and he took his eyes off of Jesus and instead focused on the boisterous wind. As he began to sink, he cried out to Jesus, “Lord, save me!” and Jesus did save him, asking Peter why he doubted. (Matthew 14:22-33) How many times have we doubted what Jesus can do in our lives? How many times have I doubted?

When Jesus told His apostles that He must “suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed and be raised the third day,” it was Peter who took Jesus aside and rebuked Him, saying, “Far be it from You, Lord; this shall not happen to You!” (Matthew 16:21-23) Peter did not know the plan of God and that there was a purpose for the all the suffering that Jesus would go through and although Jesus would die, He would be resurrected and pay the price for redemption of sins for all who choose to believe in Him as the Christ.

Before Jesus was arrested, He told His disciples that each of them would be “made to stumble”:

“Then Jesus said to them, ‘All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written:

“I will strike the Shepherd, and the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’”

“‘But after I have been raised, I will go before you to Galilee.’ Peter answered and said to Him, ‘Even if all are made to stumble because of You, I will never be made to stumble.’ Jesus said to him, ‘Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ Peter said to Him, ‘Even I have to die with You, I will not deny You!’ And so said all the disciples.” (Matthew 26:31-35)

Before Jesus was arrested, He was in the garden of Gethsemane with His disciples. Judas, Jesus’ betrayer, came with the chief priests and Pharisees and a detachment of troops seeking to arrest Jesus. Peter took his sword and then cut off the ear of the high priest’s servant. Jesus then said to Peter:

“Put your sword into the sheath. Shall I not drink the cup with My Father has given Me?” (John 18:11)

How many times have we taken manners into our own hands so that we could fix a situation according to how we believed it should be fixed rather than letting Jesus be in control of it? I have tried many, many times to fix a situation, only to make it worse.

Though Peter said he would absolutely never deny Jesus, he did, and he denied Him three times, exactly as Jesus said he would. Why? Peter feared for his life, perhaps fearing they would do to him what they were going to do to Jesus. After the third time Peter denied knowing Jesus, cursing and swearing, immediately a rooster crowed and Peter was filled with deep remorse for what he had done:

“And Peter remembered the word of Jesus who had said to him, ‘Before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.’ So he went out and wept bitterly.’’ (Matthew 26:75)

How many of us have made huge mistakes in our lives, doing things we ought not to do, because we feared what people might do to us instead of fearing God? Peter had just made a huge mistake in his life, and he likely felt like he had lost everything.

As Jesus foretold, He was crucified on a cross and He died. As prophesied approximately 700 years before it happened, His body was placed in a tomb of a rich man:

Prophecy: “And they made His grave with the wicked - but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.” (Isaiah 53:9)

Fulfillment: “Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be given to him. When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the door of the tomb, and departed.” (Matthew 27:57-60)

Mary Magdalene, one of Jesus’ followers, and other women went to the tomb early on the third day to anoint Jesus’ body with spices. Mary saw that the large stone that had been placed in front of it had been taken away. She ran back to tell Simon Peter and John what had happened, saying, “They have taken away the Lord out of the tomb, and we do not know where they have laid Him.” (John 20:2) Peter and John ran to the tomb, with John arriving first. John wrote about what they saw:

“And he [John], stooping down and looking in, saw the linen cloths lying there; yet he did not go in. Then Simon Peter came, following him, and went into the tomb; and he saw the linens cloths lying there, and the handkerchief that had been around His head, not lying with the linen cloths, but folded together in a place by itself. Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed. For as yet they did not know the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead. Then the disciples went away again to their own homes.” (John 20:5-10)

Notice above it says, “Then the other disciple, who came to the tomb first, went in also; and he saw and believed.” This Scripture is referring to the apostle John. Notice that when Peter went into the tomb, though he looked and saw the same thing John subsequently had seen, it does not say that Peter believed. Peter was seeing with his own eyes that the tomb was empty and the burial cloths that once wrapped the body of Jesus, were lying on the floor, with Jesus’ body nowhere in sight. How many of us have doubted what we have seen with our own eyes, like Peter did? Did Peter not remember the three times that Jesus had predicted His own death and resurrection?

1. “From that time Jesus began to show to His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised the third day.” (Matthew 16:21)

2. “Now while they were staying in Galilee, Jesus said to them, ‘The Son of Man is about to be betrayed into the hands of men, and they will kill Him, and the third day He will be raised up.’ And they were exceedingly sorrowful.” (Matthew 17:22-23)

3. “Now Jesus, going up to Jerusalem, took the twelve disciples aside on the road and said to them, ‘Behold, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be betrayed to the chief priests and to the scribes; and they will condemn Him to death, and deliver Him to the Gentiles to mock and to scourge and to crucify. And the third day He will rise again.” (Matthew 20:17-19)

As Jesus also prophesied, He did rise again on the third day. The Bible tells us that after Peter and John had left, Mary stayed outside the tomb and wept and looked into the tomb. She saw two angels in white who asked her why she was weeping. She told them it was because someone had taken Jesus’ body and she didn’t know where they had laid Him.

In the gospel of Mark, we have another account of Mary’s interaction with the angel at the tomb of Jesus, who told Mary and the women with her when they saw that the angel and that the tomb was empty:

“But he [the angel] said to them, ‘Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. But go, tell His disciples - and Peter - that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.’” Mark 16:6-7)

The angel specifically told them to go tell Peter. This is not coincidence. Also notice that it does not say, “Tell His disciples, including Peter.”

After speaking with the angles, Mary turned around and saw Jesus but didn’t realize that it was Him. Jesus asked her why she was weeping and whom was she seeking. Thinking He was a gardener, she asked Him where He had laid Jesus’ body:

“Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him, ‘Rabboni!’ (which is to say, Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not cling to Me, for I have not yet ascended to My Father; but go to My brethren and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, and to My God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things to her.” (John 20:16-18)

Through all of this, Jesus was teaching Peter a lesson: God has a plan, and His will, will be done. We may not like the plan, it may not be how we would do things, we may not even understand it, but we must trust in God not only with that plan but with everything in our lives.

After Jesus resurrected, His disciples were hiding from the Jews in a room for fear of them. Jesus appeared in the midst of His disciples in the room and said:

“‘Peace be with you.’ When He had said this, He showed them His hands and His side. Then the disciples were glad when they saw the Lord. So Jesus said to them again, ‘Peace to you! As the Father has sent Me, I also send you.’ And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and said to them, ‘Receive the Holy Spirit. If you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven them; if you retain the sins of any, they are retained.’” (John 20:19-23)

The apostles of Jesus were now commissioned by Jesus and filled with the Holy Spirit, ready to go and preach the good news of salvation of sins through belief in Jesus Christ. But there was a matter of the heart in Peter that still had to be dealt with. Peter, Thomas, Nathanael, James and John, and two other disciples were at the Sea of Tiberias. Simon Peter said he wanted to go fishing and the other disciples went with him. They spent the entire night fishing and yet had not caught a single fish. The next morning, Jesus saw them from the shore and called out to them. But the disciples did not know it was Jesus. He asked if they had caught any fish and they told Him no. He told them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” (John 21:6) And so it happened again, the net was so full of fish that they could not bring it into the boat. John immediately then recognized that it was Jesus, and he told Peter, “It is the Lord!” Peter then put on his coat and plunged into the sea. He dragged the net, that had 153 fish in it, to the land and was able to keep the heavy net from breaking. Jesus then invited His disciples to come and eat breakfast with Him. This time, they knew it was the Lord.

Now, it was time for a restoration of Peter. Just as he had denied Jesus three times, Jesus would ask Peter three times if Peter loved Him, and each time, Peter responded affirmatively. Jesus told Him respectively after Peter answered, “Feed My lambs,” then “Tend My sheep,” and finally,”Feed My sheep.” For each former denial of Jesus, Peter confirmed that he did indeed love Jesus. The Bible tells us of the third time, “Peter was grieved because He said to him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’ And he said to Him, ‘Lord, You know all things; You know that I love You.’” Jesus ended the conversation with how Jesus had first started it, when He had first seen Peter and his brother Andrew fishing that day, saying: “Follow Me.” (John 21:19)

Peter did follow Jesus, and he spread the good news of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ not only to the Jews but also to the Gentiles. Peter preached boldly on the day of Pentecost when over 3,000 souls were saved. He wrote the two epistles that we have read and studied over the past weeks. Peter did in fact grow in the grace and knowledge of Jesus, giving Him glory. May we remember the words Peter spoke, through the power of the Holy Spirit, on the day of Pentecost to the men of Judea and Israel:

“‘Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly that God has made this Jesus whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.’ Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart, and said to Peter and the rest of the apostles, ‘Men and brethren, what shall we do?’ Then Peter said to them, ‘Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God will call.’ And with many other words he testified and exhorted them, saying ‘Be saved from this perverse generation.’ Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day about three thousand souls were added to them.” (Acts 2:36-41)

We have now come to the end of the second epistle of Peter. May we remember Peter’s words from his first epistle:

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His abundant mercy has begotten us again to a living hope, through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled and that does not fade away, reserved in heaven for you, who are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.” (1 Peter 1:3-5)

Finally, I ask you: Does the inheritance Peter spoke of above apply to you? Do you have the living hope of Jesus Christ? Are you kept by the power of God through faith for salvation? If not, what are you waiting for? ✝️

May 17, 2023: 2 Peter 3:17 - Beware Lest You Also Fall

“You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away with the error of the wicked…” - 2 Peter 3:17

God’s warnings to us are all throughout the Bible. He warns the wicked to turn from their ungodly ways and to turn to Him. He warns those who profess to be saved by Jesus Christ to be watchful and to be able to discern truth from lies, for deceivers will run rampant in the last days before Jesus’ return. He warns those who are saved in Him to remain steadfast and to know that any delay in His coming is only to provide more time for sinners to turn to Him. We are to be assured that He will come and should not give any second thought to the words of mockers and scoffers in the last days.

Our world today is on fire, with chaos and crises rising to a level never seen before on a worldwide scale. We are seeing human depravity increasing at a rapid pace and that aligns perfectly as Paul the apostle wrote about in Romans 1:18-32. We are seeing people who are lovers of themselves and not lovers of God as Paul wrote about in 2 Timothy 3:1-9. We read about things happening in so-called churches that are blaspheming God, as their congregations clap and praise in their deceived approval. And yet, where are the pastors who are preaching and teaching about the end times and what the Bible tells us the world will look like in the days before Jesus’ second coming? Why are such a small number of pastors preaching and teaching about this, especially here in America? Sadly, I believe the answer is because most have sold out to the lies of the devil, Satan. The message of the Bible is truth, and most people don’t want to hear the truth. Rather, they want to hear that all roads lead to heaven. Per a November 23, 2021 article from Pew Research Center that conducted a poll of US adults (see: https://www.pewresearch.org/religion/2021/11/23/few-americans-blame-god-or-say-faith-has-been-shaken-amid-pandemic-other-tragedies/):

“Christians who believe that many religions can lead to eternal life in heaven were asked whether they believe that this privilege is reserved only for members of other Christian religions, or that some non-Christian religions can also lead to eternal life in heaven. Among all Christians, a majority (58%) say that many religions can lead to eternal life in heaven, and within this group, the prevailing view is that members of some non-Christian religions are able to attain eternal life in heaven (43% of all Christians express this view). Just 13% of U.S. Christians say that many religions can lead to eternal life in heaven, but that only Christian religions qualify.”

If anyone has ever read the Bible for themselves, they will know that beyond a shadow of doubt, you must believe in Jesus as your Savior, meaning you put your trust in Him to be saved from all your sins, in order to be allowed entry into heaven, His kingdom. Jesus Himself told His disciples:

“Jesus said to him, ‘I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14:6)

Jesus’ statement above eliminates all other ways to heaven; there is no way to it except through Him. Further, Jesus said:

“Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leaves to life, and there are few who find it.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 7:13-14)

“Then Jesus said to them again, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly.’” (John 10:7-10)

As Jesus said above, the thief - Satan - “does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.” Satan will tell lie upon lie in order to deceive people by appealing to their desire to cling to their sin and not to cling to Jesus. Satan makes us feel good about our sin, telling us we were born that way, and in a literal sense, he is correct because we are ALL born with sin but that does NOT mean we must stay in our sin. We ALL sin, and as our society becomes more and more depraved, it has approved of certain sins, putting them on full display, especially in the entertainment and media industries. Why? Because the great deceiver wants us to think it’s okay to sin and that we should hate the God who created us because He just wants to oppress us. Satan wraps us in everlasting chains of bondage to him, never to be broken. Only Jesus can break those chains of sin:

“Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed.” (Jesus Christ; John 8:34-36)

We are in a spiritual war for our souls. When a soldier goes to war, he is prepared for it, he trains for it, well in advance. He is taught certain things so that when he is on the battlefield, he doesn’t have to think about what he does; rather, he automatically does it. The same is true for a believer in Christ. We have given our souls to Jesus Christ because we have chosen to believe, to trust in Him, as the Redeemer of all our sins, for our salvation. Because we have trusted in Jesus, the enemy Satan wants to do everything he can to steal our soul, and he will do it in very tempting ways. One of the most deceptive ways he will do this is by planting false teachers and false apostles in churches that preach a twisted and distorted gospel, as Satan lures people back in to the snare of sin. I believe this has been happening with greater frequency in the last 20 years or so, particularly with the “seeker friendly” movement in which churches focused not on bringing the truth of God to people but to expand the size of their congregations, thereby increasing their revenue. They turned from preaching what people needed to hear to what people wanted to hear. The apostle Paul wrote about this:

“I charge you therefore before God and the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His appearing and His kingdom: Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine, but according to their own desires, because they have itching ears, they will heap up for themselves teachers; and they will turn their ears away from the truth, and be turned aside to fables. But you be watchful in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.” (2 Timothy 4:1-5)

We are absolutely, beyond the shadow of a doubt, at the times in which Paul wrote. As I sit here, writing this devotional, this headline popped up on my phone: “Alarming number of Americans are ditching their faith in Christ.” It is an article from endtimeheadlines.org that cites a Public Religion Research Institute poll whose results are posted on Axios.com. (See: https://endtimeheadlines.org/2023/05/alarming-number-of-americans-are-ditching-their-faith-in-christ/ and https://www.axios.com/2023/05/16/rising-number-americans-switch-religions).

“According to Axios, The jump in religion-switching comes as many Americans say they no longer believe in their initial religion’s teachings — or, in many cases, disagree with a religion’s stance against LGBTQ+ people. More Americans also are turning away from Christianity and are seeing themselves as unaffiliated with any religion or as religious “nones,” even as some conservative Republicans seek to inject more religion into schools and public life.”

More and more people who once professed to be Christians are turning away from their faith. The Bible warns us repeatedly to be grounded in God’s word, to be on guard against the lies of deceivers and to be able to recognize them as lies and not as of truth. However, if we do not read God’s word for ourselves, we will not be able to discern lies from truth and we are in danger of being led astray by false teachers and false pastors that have infiltrated the churches. Peter and Paul, two apostles of Jesus Christ, warned us of this, and so did the apostle John. Let us heed their warnings and plant ourselves firmly in the word of God, putting on His whole armor that we may be able stand against the wiles/schemes of the devil, and continue to abide in our Lord Jesus Christ:

”Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world - the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life - is not of the Father but is of the world. And the world is passing away, and the lust of it; but he who does the will of God abides forever.

“Little children, it is the last hour; and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming, even now many antichrists have come, by which we know that it is the last hour. They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us; but they went out that they might be made manifest, that none of them were of us. But you have an anointing from the Holy One, and you know all things. I have not written to you because you do not know the truth, but because you know it, and that no lie is of the truth. Who is a liar but he who denies that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father either; he who acknowledges the Son has the Father also.

“Therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. And this is the promise that He has promised us - eternal life. These things I have written to you concerning those who try to deceive you. But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

“And now little children, abide in Him, that when He appears, we may have confidence and not be ashamed before Him at His coming. If you know that He is righteous, you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of Him. (1 John 2:15-29) ✝️

May 14, 2023: 2 Peter 3:16 - Some People Twist God's Word to their Own Destruction

“…as also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures.” - 2 Peter 3:16

Before Jesus was crucified, He had told His apostles that when He was no longer with them, they would receive the Holy Spirit, whom Jesus also referred to as the “Helper,” who would teach them all things and help them to remember all that Jesus had taught them (John 14:26, 16:13-15). When a person has put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save them from their sins, the apostle Paul wrote that we are instantly filled with the Holy Spirit. This is not speaking of water baptism; rather, it refers to the Holy Spirit that enters us the moment we are saved by putting our trust in Jesus Christ as our Savior:

“For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body - whether Jews or Greek, whether slaves or free - and have all been made to drink into one Spirit.” ( 1 Corinthians 12:13)

Paul also wrote:

“There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:1-2)

“But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His.” (Romans 8:9)

When we have the Holy Spirit of God within us, He leads us into understanding of God’s word. As with anyone who is learning, we don’t start off at a collegiate level; rather, we start with the easy things. When we first began to read as a child, we started off learning our ABCs in the alphabet. Then we learned short words and we learned how to put them together into sentences, increasing in the difficulty of things which we read. The same is true in the Bible: we start with the simple things by reading the milk of God’s word and then we progress to the solid food, the meat of God’s word, which is more difficult to understand because it is based on knowledge that we acquired previously by studying the milk of God’s word. Peter wrote about this in his first epistle:

“…as newborn babes, desire pure milk of the word, that you may grow thereby, if you have tasted that the Lord is gracious.” (1 Peter 2:1-2)

Have you ever seen newborn babies when they are hungry? When they are near their mother, it is as if they can smell their mother’s milk and they have a rooting reflex and they are searching out their mother’s milk. This rooting reflex also happens when they need to be comforted. Like a newborn baby, Peter tells us we should seek God’s word as if our live depends on it because it does depend on it, just as a newborn baby’s life depends on milk. God’s word both feeds us spiritually and comforts us. We should have this deep desire in our heart to read His word because we want to know about Him and His plan of salvation for us.

The apostle Paul also wrote about this in 1 Corinthians, as did the author of Hebrews, of which some people believe Paul also wrote, and emphasized that we should not stay in the milk of the word but should grow in our reading of it so that we can progress to the solid food of the word, the more difficult things:

“And I, brethren, could not speak to you as to spiritual people but as to carnal, as to babes in Christ. I fed you with milk and not with solid food; for until now you were not able to receive it, and even now you are still not able…” ( 1 Corinthians 3:1-3)

“For though by this time you ought to be teachers, you need someone to teach you again the first principles of the oracles of God; and you have come to need milk and not solid food. For everyone who partakes only of milk is unskilled in the word of righteousness, for he is a babe. But solid food belongs to those who are of full age, that is, those who by reason of use have their senses exercised to discern both good and evil.” (Hebrews 5:13-14)

If we do not progress in our reading of God’s word, which includes reading from both the New and Old Testaments, then we are at risk of misunderstanding the meaning of the more difficult Scriptures. Imagine a first grader trying to read a college-level book and not only trying to read it but understand the meaning of it; it doesn’t work. We must read from the prophetic books in the Old Testament, including Isaiah to read of the many prophecies of the first coming of Jesus Christ that were fulfilled and written about in the four gospels and throughout the New Testament. We must read the book of Daniel to understand the book of Revelation. If we only read one without the other, we are not getting the full understanding of God’s word. We must progress from the milk of the word to the solid food in order to deepen our understanding of who God is, His plan of redemption for us that came through His chosen people when Jesus Christ came to earth the first time, and what is coming next in His written plan of history that tells us what will happen before it happens. Only Almighty God could write this.

I have learned that there are things written in the Bible that we can only understand when it is God’s timing for us to understand. The prophet Daniel is a perfect example of this. Daniel was given by God the amazing ability to tell Babylonian kings the dreams that they had dreamt and also to interpret them. These dreams all related to actual historical events that at that time, had not happened but did happen. Daniel was also able to interpret a statement that had been written on a wall by a hand with no body and which foretold the fall of a wicked and final Babylonian king to the Medo-Persian empire. Daniel was also given visions of his own that greatly troubled him, one of which was a prophecy of the end time in Daniel 12. It prophesied of, “a time of trouble, such a never was since there was a nation, even to that time.” However, this time, no interpretation of the vision was given and instead, Daniel was told:

“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.” (Daniel 12:4)

In the vision, Daniel heard two men speaking and Daniel wrote:

“Although I heard, I did not understand. Then I said, ‘My lord, what shall be the end of these things?’ And he said, ‘Go your way, Daniel, for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.’” (Daniel 12:8-9)

This demonstrates that there are some things written in the Bible that were prophesied hundreds and even thousands of years prior that we simply will not understand until we grow closer to the time when they will be fulfilled. The things prophesied in the book of Daniel parallel what is written in book of Revelation, which describes the last seven years of the end of the age before Jesus Christ returns at His second coming. Until we get closer to the time of the end, they will be veiled and we won’t understand them fully. I believe we are starting to see them unveiled and what previously did not make sense, is beginning to make sense. An example of this unveiling of prophecy is in the book of Ezekiel.

For thousands of years, God had scattered the Jews from their land Israel because of their sins against Him. The prophet Ezekiel wrote about this:

“Therefore I poured out My fury on them for the blood they had shed on the land, and for their idols with which they had defiled it. So I scattered them among the nations, and they were dispersed throughout the countries; I judged them according to their ways and their deeds. When they came to the nations, wherever they went, they profaned My holy name - when they said of them, ‘These are the people of the LORD, and yet they have gone out of His land.’ But I had concern for My holy name, which the house of Israel had profaned among the nations wherever they went.” (Ezekiel 36:18-21)

Between approximately 593 and 565 BC, the prophet Ezekiel wrote a prophecy that until May 14, 1948, not many people alive prior to that time believed they would ever see happen: the return of Israel to its land. But God had promised to do this, and not for their sake but for His holy name’s sake:

“Therefore say to the house of Israel , ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “I do not do this for your sake, O house of Israel, but for My holy name’s sake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify My great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst; and the nations shall know that I am the LORD,” says the Lord GOD, “when I am hallowed in you before their eyes. For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land.”’” (Ezekiel 36:22-24)

This prophecy, also written about in the Scripture passage below, has been partially fulfilled as of May 14, 1948, when the nation of Israel was reborn:

“Then say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord GOD: “Surely I will take the children of Israel from among the nations, wherever they have gone, and will gather them from every side and bring them into their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, on the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; they shall no longer be two nations, nor shall they ever be divided into two kingdoms again.” (Ezekiel 37:21-22)

Notice in the Scripture above it says, “on the mountains of Israel.” I listen online to a pastor named Dr. Andy Woods at Sugar Bible Church. In 2022, he had a series of messages titled “Middle East Meltdown” in which he discussed the events prophesied in the book of Ezekiel in the war of Gog and Magog. I remember during several of these messages, he mentioned that it had occurred to him that the Bible mentions repeatedly the words, “mountains of Israel,” including in: Ezekiel 6:2-3; 17:23; 20:40; 34:14; 36:1, 4, 6, 8; 38:8, and 39:4, 17. Pastor Woods said that prior to the Six Day Way in 1967, Israel did not control any of the land of the mountains of Israel and it was only when it won this war through the power of Almighty God that Israel took back control of the mountains of Israel. Siggy Fried who was 23 at the time of the war and was attending college in New York, flew to Israel on June 3, 1967 and wrote about in a journal that he kept during the war. In his journal, he wrote how Israel had gained control of the mountains of Israel. (See: https://jewishstandard.timesofisrael.com/six-day-war-diary/).

The prophecy in Ezekiel 37:21-22 above also says that Israel will no longer be a divided nation. Long ago, it was divided into the northern kingdom of Israel and the southern kingdom of Judah. Subsequently, Israel was taken captive to Assyria and Judah was taken captive to Babylon. Since 1948 and 1967, we have seen even in our generation Bible prophecy being fulfilled. However, there are still prophecies of Ezekiel that are yet to be fulfilled, most importantly of which is when they will will no longer defile themselves and will believe in Jesus Christ as their Messiah:

“‘And I will not hide My face from them anymore; for I shall have poured out My Spirit on the house of Israel,’ says the Lord GOD.” (Ezekiel 39:29)

As we can see, sometimes it takes a long time for prophecy to be fulfilled, and as evidenced by the prophecies of Ezekiel, we have seen some prophecies being fulfilled in our generation and others that while not yet fulfilled will be, in God’s perfect timing. The evidence of fulfilled prophecy to me is what solidified my faith in Jesus Christ. However, I would not have known about the prophecies unless I had read God’s word for myself and was given the power to understand it through the Holy Spirit.

If someone who is not seeking God but read God’s word, they simply will not understand it because they are not seeking Him with their heart:

“But as it is written: ‘Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, nor have entered into the heart of man the things which God has prepared for those who love Him.’ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (1 Corinthians 2:9-14)

As Peter told us in today’s Scripture verse, “as also in all his epistle’s, speaking in them of these things, in which are some things hard to understand, which untaught and unstable people twist to their own destruction, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures,” without the understanding given by the Holy Spirit, the Bible will not make sense to them, especially those things which are difficult to understand. Instead, they consider the Bible a bunch of made-up stories by men and think of God as a power-hungry thorn in their side who only wants to make them miserable by His never-ending set of rules. Some, sadly, have a completely twisted view of the Bible and look at Satan as the one who truly cares about them and doesn’t withhold knowledge from them and is the light bearer. This is deadly thinking and is a snare of Satan that has led many into the trap of captivity, from which they will never, ever escape.

When I was not saved yet through the grace of God by believing in His Son Jesus, I had this longing, this desire in my heart to know the truth. I did not know it at the time, but I was being convicted by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit was showing me that I was a sinner in need of a Savior and that the Savior is Jesus Christ. Jesus told His apostles that when He would go away [would be crucified, die, resurrect, and ascend to heaven], God would send His Holy Spirit to them:

“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment…” (Jesus Christ; John 16:8)

I was in my late 30s when I began searching for the truth. I had to know: is believing in Jesus Christ for my salvation of sins the only way to heaven? I had to know why it was different from all the religions in the world. So I sought God with my heart and with an open mind. What does the Bible tell us about seeking Him? The prophet Jeremiah wrote about this to the Jews who had lived in Judah and had been taken captive by Babylon. God, through Jeremiah, was telling them He had a future for them and that they should not listen to the false prophets who were telling them lies. He told them they would return to their land after a period of 70 years. Then God gave them loving words of encouragement that apply to us, whether we are Jew or Gentile, today:

“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)

After four years of reading the Bible, I knew the absolute truth: every word in the Bible is true, and the only way to God the Father is by believing in His Son as Redeemer of all my sins. It is by His grace that I am saved.

I would strongly encourage anyone reading this that if they have not ever read the Bible in its entirety, to read it completely, beginning with Genesis and ending at Revelation. I also recommend not signing up for a 1-year Bible reading plan, as I personally think it moves too quickly and the reader is at risk of missing out on a lot of what is written simply because of trying to meet a timeline. Instead, I recommend that you go at your own pace, really taking the time to understand God’s word and to think about it, letting the Holy Spirit guide you and teach you. I suggest that if your Bible has a center column with notes in it, that you read some of them as well as they contain information such as explanatory notes, cross-references, and links between the New and Old Testaments.

As with any task set before us, reading God’s word takes work. We must decide in our hearts and our minds that this is something that we want to do so that we may grow in our understanding of Him, grow closer to Him, and become rooted deeply in our faith in Him. Though we may be persecuted for our faith, and if we are doing anything for Him, we will be, though we may even be imprisoned or even killed for our faith in Him, when He has written His word in our hearts, that is something that no one can ever take away from us.

When we have done this work for ourselves, taking the time to read the Bible, asking the Holy Spirit to provide us with knowledge, understanding, application, and wisdom of it, we will see this beautiful tapestry that God has woven for us, throughout His word, and how it all connects and how it all points to His plan of salvation for us: believing in His Son Jesus Christ as the Redeemer of our sins.

“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.” (1 Corinthians 1:18) ✝️

May 10, 2023: 2 Peter 3:15 - The Longsuffering of Our Lord is Salvation

“…and consider that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation - as also our beloved brother Paul, according to the wisdom given to him, has written to you…” - 2 Peter 3:15

Moses, the man who had led God’s people, Israel, out of 400+ years of bondage in Egypt, went up to Mount Sinai a second time to receive the tablets on which were written the Ten Commandments of God, also called the two tablets of Testimony. The first time he had received them from God, when Moses came down from the mountain, he saw the people of Israel worshipping a golden calf they thought Moses wasn’t coming back from the mountain and they had turned away from God, quickly forgetting all that He had already done for them. They proclaimed it was the golden calf that they themselves had made that had brought them out of Egypt instead of giving Almighty God the glory. They returned to their sinful and idolatrous ways. Before Moses had come down the mountain, God had told Moses what the people were doing, and God wanted to destroy them and instead making a great nation through them, He would make it through Moses. However, Moses interceded for them, saying:

“LORD, why does Your wrath burn hot against Your people whom You have brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and with a mighty hand? Why should the Egyptians speak, and say, ‘He brought them out to harm them, to kill them in the mountains, and to consume them from the face of the earth’?” Turn from Your fierce wrath, and relent from this harm to Your people. Remember Abraham, Isaac, and Israel, Your servants, to whom You swore by Your own self, and said to them, ‘I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven; and all this land that I have spoken of I give to your descendants, and they shall inherit it forever.’” (Exodus 32:11-13)

God did relent from pouring out His wrath on the repentant Israelites. Moses came down from the mountain, and when he saw the people and heard them singing and dancing around their false god they had made, Moses’ anger arose and he cast the tablets to the ground, breaking them in pieces. Moses burned with fire the false god they had made, ground it into powder, mixed it with water, and made the people drink it. Moses had those who were with him and were on God’s side to come to him. All but 3,000 were on God’s side and came to Moses. Moses commanded that those who had sinned against God and turned away from Him be killed, and they were. Moses then approached God the next day and atoned for the sins of those who stood with God. God then told Moses that He would use Moses to lead the people out of Sinai and into the Promised Land and that His presence would go with him. Then God instructed Moses to go up by himself the next morning to receive a new set of the tablets of Testimony. Moses cut two tablets of stone and brought them with him up to Mount Sinai. God then spoke to Moses, revealing His character to Moses:

“Now the LORD descended in the cloud and stood with him there, and proclaimed the name of the LORD. And the LORD passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The LORD, the LORD God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, by no means clearing the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children and children’s children to the third and fourth generation.’ So Moses made haste and bowed his head toward the earth, and worshiped. Then he said, ‘If now I have found grace in Your sight, O Lord, let my Lord, I pray, go among us, even though we are a stiff-necked [stubborn] people; and pardon our iniquity and our sin, and take us as Your inheritance.’” (Exodus 34:5-9)

Just as the Lord God was longsuffering to His people, the nation of Israel, so is He is longsuffering to us. He forgives all sin to those who repent - who turn to His Son Jesus Christ - believing in Him as their Savior. But for those who are guilty, and all of us are guilty of sin because are born with it, and do not turn to Jesus and choose to remain in their sin, some of whom may have continued in their rejection of Jesus’ free gift of salvation in multiple generations of their family, God will not clear their guilt; instead, they will die in it. Those 3,000 people who had experienced the goodness of God as He led them, through Moses, out of Egypt, freeing them from their chains of slavery, turned away from God and turned to idol worship, and given the chance to return to Him, they chose not to and received the due penalty for their sins: death. They chose darkness over light, just as people in the world today have chosen. God sent His Son Jesus Christ to offer each and every one of us the way out of our sins and that is by believing in Him as the only One who paid the price with His precious blood to redeem us of our sins. Sin Jesus’ first coming to earth, and when He died and resurrected and is alive today, all who turn to Him and believe in Him will be saved; we will no longer be found guilty of our sins but are pardoned of our iniquities. When He returns to earth a second time, it won’t be to offer salvation but to execute His righteous judgment on a sinful world that rejects salvation, chooses to remain in sin, and aligns with the darkness, with Satan. When Jesus comes again, for those not saved, it will be too late to turn to Him, and they, like the 3,000 in Sinai, will be found guilty and will die in their sin. All who have lived since Jesus came the first time and who rejected His free gift of salvation and died in their sin will never have peace in their eternity, only eternal torment.

So now, as we await the second coming of Jesus, there are many who mock and scoff at believers in Christ, saying He will not come again, but He will. God said it, and it will be done; you can count on it. Any delay is only because of His deep love for us and that He wants no one to perish but that all will turn to Jesus and be saved. As with the 3,000 in Moses’ day, you must make a choice: are you on the Lord’s side - with Jesus - are you against Him? The choice is yours alone to make.

May 9, 2023: 2 Peter 3:14 - May We be Without Spot and Blameless

“Therefore, beloved, looking forward to these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, without spot and blameless…” - 2 Peter 3:14

Before Jesus was crucified, died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven, He had told His apostles several times that He would soon be leaving them but that God would send them another Helper, or Comforter:

“If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him, nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.” (Jesus Christ; 14:15-18)

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” (Jesus Christ; John 14:26)

“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth…” (Jesus Christ; John 16:13)

When we decide in our heart to believe in Jesus as the Redeemer of our sins, the only One who can save us from all our sin, we are instantly filled with the Helper, who is also called the Holy Spirit. The apostle Paul explained this:

“In Him [Jesus] 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 Holy Spirit helps us to understand God’s word, the Bible, and to get to know Him better. Part of knowing Him is a desire to be more like Christ. When we look up to someone, we often try to be like them, and that is how we should live our lives when we are saved by Jesus. Notice than in the Scripture above from John 14:15-18, the first thing Jesus said was, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Notice He did not say go and do whatever we want because we are saved by Him. If we abide by that type of thinking, we may not have truly accepted Jesus as our Savior and at a minimum, we are putting ourselves at risk of being swayed by the Devil to turn against God. While it can take some time for a new believer in Christ to begin to let go of their own sinful ways, as it did in my own life, eventually, there should be a noticeable change in that person that reflects Jesus in their life. When we love Jesus, we don’t want to disappoint Him and we try harder so that we don’t. Yes, we will still make mistakes, yes, we will still sin while we are in our sinful bodies here are on earth, but we should have a longing to please Him and to let go of this world that offers us no hope for our eternity. Over the years, by reading His word and praying often to Him, as I went through many difficult times in my family life, I have learned that I can depend on Jesus, no matter what; He is always there for me and always will be. Knowing that, I don’t want to be that selfish and sinful person that I used to be, because when I was, I had no peace in my life, only turmoil. Yes, I’m still a work in progress, and will be until I’m finally Home with Him. I am a sinner who has been saved by His grace, and I know that there is nothing that I could ever do that could save me from my sins. As we go through our lives, may we let the Holy Spirit lead us in these perilous times when sin abounds and is exalted and anything that is of Christ is hated, and may we remember the words of the apostle Paul:

“Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 15:58) ✝️

May 8, 2023: 2 Peter 3:13 - Believers in Christ Look for New Heavens and a New Earth

“Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.” - 2 Peter 3:13

“In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth...Then God said, ‘Let Us make man in our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth.’ So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” (Genesis 1:1, 26-27)

When God created the heavens and the earth and all that is in them, He created them knowing that Adam and Eve would sin, doing the one thing He had forbidden Adam to do or else he would die - to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil (Genesis 1:16-17) - knowing that the curse of sin would begin at the point they ate of that tree and that sin would be passed down to every single person ever born thereafter. Adam and Eve’s sin did not surprise God; no, He knew they would sin before they sinned, and He knows that we will sin before we ourselves commit sin. But God had a plan, a plan of redemption of sins through His Son Jesus Christ.

As part of His perfect plan, God would first show us Himself, His holy character, through the nation of Israel, whom He chose to set apart from all other nations, and to whom He gave the Mosaic Law. The Mosaic Law is “made up of the Ten Commandments, the ordinances, and the worship system, which included the priesthood, the tabernacle, the offerings, and the festivals (Exodus 20-40); Leviticus 1-7; 23).” (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/Mosaic-Law.html). The Mosaic Law was to reveal that sin is inherent in each and every one of us, that while the Law is good and holy, no one could ever fully keep it, and to point the nation of Israel to the One - the only One - who can forgive and wash clean all sin by His precious blood, and He is the Lamb of God, Jesus Christ. When Jesus came to earth the first time to offer salvation from all sin to the nation of Israel, most rejected Him as their prophesied Messiah and had Him crucified. However, that was not the end of the story; rather, it was just the beginning. Jesus did not stay dead, but rose from the dead three days later and after 40 days, He ascended to the right hand of God the Father. The Holy Spirit came upon the apostles of Jesus Christ to preach and teach the good news of salvation. The apostle Paul, a former Pharisee who previously went by the name of Saul, a Jewish religious leader who had previously persecuted those who followed Jesus, had been converted on the road to Damascus by Jesus and was chosen by Jesus to bring the good news of salvation to the Gentiles (Acts 9:1-19):

“Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings and the children of Israel.” (Jesus Christ; Acts 9:15)

Paul later wrote about this in the book of Ephesians:

“For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles - if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets; that the Gentiles should be fellow heirs, of the same body, and partakers of His promise in Christ through the gospel, of which I became a minister according to the gift of the grace of God given to me by the effective working of His power.” (Ephesians 3:1-7)

From the very beginning, God intended to send Jesus to save all peoples and not just the nation of Israel. The prophet Isaiah wrote about this in the book of Isaiah, long before Jesus came to earth the first time:

“There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots. The Spirit of the LORD shall rest upon Him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD…And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, who shall stand as a banner to the people; for the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.” (Isaiah 11:1-2, 10)

The “root of Jesse” refers to the lineage of King David, and Jesse was David’s father. Jesus is a descendant of King David and is of the tribe of Judah. The apostle Paul quoted Isaiah’s prophecy above in Romans 15:12. In the last book of the Bible and its last chapter, Revelation 22, Jesus Himself stated:

“I, Jesus, have sent My angel to testify to you these things in the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, the Bright and Morning Star.” (Revelation 22:16)

Though the majority of the nation of Israel has rejected their Messiah, when Jesus Christ returns to earth a second time after a 7-year period of horrific tribulation upon the earth, a remnant of Jews will be alive and all of that remnant will be saved, as Paul wrote about and quoted from Isaiah:

“And so all Israel will be saved [delivered], as it is written: ‘The Deliverer will come out of Zion, and He will turn away ungodliness from Jacob [whom God renamed to “Israel”; see Genesis 35:10]; for this is My covenant with them, when I take away their sins.’” (Romans 11:26-27)

The prophet Zechariah also wrote about Israel’s rejection of Jesus as their prophesied Messiah, how they would be scattered from their land, that most would die in its rejection of Him, but a remnant would be saved:

“‘Awake, O sword, against My Shepherd, against the Man who is My Companion,’ says the LORD of hosts. ‘Strike the Shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered; then I will turn My hand against the little ones. And it shall come to pass in all the land,’ says the LORD, ‘That two-thirds in it shall be cut off and die, but one-third shall be left in it: I will bring the one-third through the fire, will refine them as silver is refined, and test them as gold is tested. They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, “This is My people”; and each one will say, “The LORD is my God.”’” (Zechariah 13:7-9)

God has had a plan since the very beginning, even in the book of Genesis where the first prophecy about Jesus was made when God said the words below to the serpent - Satan - who had deceived Eve into eating of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil:

“So the LORD God said to the serpent: ‘Because you have done this, you are cursed more than all cattle, and more than every beast of the field; on your belly you shall go, and you shall eat dust all the days of your life. And I will put enmity between you and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His Heel.’” (Genesis 3:14-15)

I have put in bold above the text that prophecies of Jesus. Gotquestions.org explains this in a simple way: “The serpent and the "seed" of Eve will have conflict; the offspring of the woman will crush the serpent. Jesus is this seed, and He crushed Satan at the cross.” (See: https://www.gotquestions.org/prophecies-of-Jesus.html).

Just as a person who is born again and made new by believing in their heart that Jesus is their Savior and He is the only One who can save them from all their sins, Jesus will create a new heavens, a new earth, and a new Jerusalem where only we who have been made new in Him will live in our eternity. Isaiah prophesied of this:

“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth; and the former shall not be remembered or come to mind. But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create; for behold, I create Jerusalem as a rejoicing, and her people a joy. I will rejoice in Jerusalem, and joy in My people; the voice of weeping shall no longer be heard in her, nor the voice of crying.” (Isaiah 65:17-19)

When the apostle John was exiled to the island of Patmos because of his faith in Jesus Christ and was given the revelation of Jesus Christ to write, John “…looked, and behold, a door standing open in heaven,” and was told “Come up here, and I will show you things which must take place after this” (Revelation 4:1). After writing about the 7-year tribulation period upon the earth, Jesus’ second coming, His 1,000-year reign on earth, and the great white throne judgment during which all those not saved by Jesus will be found guilty and cast into the lake of fire, John wrote in chapter 21 of what he saw:

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; three shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.’ Then He who sat on the throne said, ‘Behold, I make all things new.’ And He said to me, ‘Write, for these words are true and faithful.’ And He said to me, ‘It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts. He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I will be His God and he shall be My son.’” (Revelation 21:1-7)

For believers in Jesus Christ as our Savior, this is our hope! We have a hope that the non-believing world does not have, and that is His promise: God will one day judge sin and He will do it in His perfect timing, giving much time for people to realize their sin and turn to Jesus in belief as their Redeemer; for all who are saved by Jesus, we will see Him destroy by fire the current heavens and earth and will witness the creation of a new heaven, a new earth, and a New Jerusalem and will be allowed entry into His glorious kingdom.

For the unsaved, they have no such hope, for by their own choice they reject God and His promise of salvation:

“…having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness.” (Ephesians 4:18-19)

Instead of believing the truth of God, they chose to believe the lies of Satan. Consequently, they will spend their eternity separated from God, as John wrote about in Revelation:

“But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars shall have their part in the lake which burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second death.” (Revelation 21:8)

“But there shall by no means enter it anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb’s [Jesus Christ’s] Book of Life.” (Revelation 21:27)

Do you have this hope? Is your name written in the Lamb’s Book of Life? If not, I pray you turn to Jesus today, before it’s too late. ✝️

May 5, 2023: 2 Peter 3:12 - Looking for and Hastening the Coming of the Day of God

“…looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be dissolved, being on fire, and the elements will melt with fervent heat?” - 2 Peter 3:12

This verse continues with what Peter wrote in the preceding verse, verse 11, “Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…”

My husband and I just returned from visiting Paris, France. I had never been to Europe before, and my husband had only been to Italy once for a work trip. I absolutely love architecture and photography, and I was snapping photos all throughout the places we visited, one of which was the Louvre Museum. I was amazed at its size; a mere photograph cannot genuinely portray the scale of it. The beauty of its architecture abounds, both inside and out, with the minutest of details that work together to present an unforgettable image to the eyes of the beholder. Securely held within its walls are works of art, masterpieces, that we rarely see being created in our modern world today. We saw paintings that were of such size that filled entire walls of large rooms, representing the history of our world as it was when the artist captured that moment in time so that even now hundreds of years later, we can see what he or she had seen. We walked through galleries of Roman, Greek, and other beautifully sculptured statues and sculptures. As we walked through the gallery containing French Crown Jewels, we beheld crowns and necklaces once worn by kings and queens. After eating lunch in an inside cafe, I stepped outside to a balcony that beheld a magnificent courtyard view, including the famous Louvre Pyramid, surrounded on three sides of the Louvre Museum. As you might be able to tell, I was in awe of what my eyes beheld, not able to take it all in, wanting to pause longer so that I could see every aspect of its artistry craftsmanship before moving onto the next room, where more beautiful creations awaited me. And yet, one thought, a persistent thought, kept occurring in my mind: as palatial as the Louvre Museum is, one day, it and everything on earth and the heavens will all be burned up, and that day will be in the coming Day of God.

For believers in Christ, we have the assurance of the word of God Himself that, while this earth and the heavens that He created are spectacular, mankind, because of its sin, has corrupted it, just as it was corrupted in the days of Noah, when God sent the worldwide flood to destroy all that was corrupted. For those who are not saved by believing in Jesus Christ as the only One who can save them from their sins and from what is coming, when they die, they will not be with God; rather, they will be in hell, a place of fire and torment. After Jesus returns to earth in His second coming, He will destroy with His mouth by a sharp sword - the word of God - all who are alive at that time and who are against Him and who choose to follow Satan instead. He will then reign as King of kings and Lord of lords on earth for 1,000 years, at the end of which time He will resurrect from the dead all who have died in their sin, who chose not to believe in Him as their Savior. Because they chose not to believe in Him, Jesus will judge them by their works, what they did on earth and will be found guilty because nothing we could ever do could save us from our sins, and will be cast into the lake of fire, forever. It will be their second death, a death that never ends.

For believers in Christ, He will make a new heaven and a new earth, and a New Jerusalem, its holy city. As beautiful as anything is that is created by mankind here on earth, it cannot compare to the beauty of God. Chapter 21 of the book of Revelation describes this new heaven, new earth, and the New Jerusalem. The best part of this new creation that God will make is that sin will abide no more. No longer will the earth be destroyed by men who seek to destroy it because of their love for money and power. No longer will there be death - there will be no more funerals of loved ones and friends - there will be no more sorrow, nor crying, for death will have been swallowed up - we will have our victory in Christ! The fulfillment of our promise of salvation will be complete, and we will live with our brothers and sisters in Christ, with Him, for eternity, no longer bound by time. We will see things that are beyond compare to anything we see here on earth, even all the beautiful sights I took in with my eyes at the stunning Louvre Museum.

Knowing all these things which are to come, then how should we live our lives as believers in Christ and what should we be looking for and hastening? The answer is clear: our lives here on earth are meant to show us what God has been pointing to throughout human history, in His word, the Holy Bible: salvation is found only in His Son Jesus Christ, and believing in Him as our Savior is our key to victory over death, when we will close the door on our lives here, and we open the door of our eternity, when we will behold with our eyes something so spectacular that we will drop to our knees and bow and confess “that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (Philippians 2:11) ✝️

May 1, 2023: 2 Peter 3:11 - What Manner of Persons Ought You to Be

“Therefore, since all these things will be dissolved, what manner of persons ought you to be in holy conduct and godliness…” - 2 Peter 3:11

In the prior verse, Peter tells us that everything in the heavens and the earth will melt with fervent heat when the day of the Lord comes. In verse 11, he is exhorting us, believers in Christ, that if we know this fact, then we should live our lives in a way that we place our existence, our true lives, in our eternal home above all the comforts that we may have in our temporary home here on earth.

What will happen when governments and global organizations turn even more tyrannical than they are now? Since March 2020, when it was decided to lock down the entire world because of a virus, the freedoms of people have been decreasing at a pace like never before. What will happen when it will be illegal to own a Bible not only in some countries but worldwide? We are already being censored on social media if we cling to that which God calls good and speak against that which God calls sin. Just this year, a British woman named Isabel Vaughan-Spruce was arrested twice for silently praying in her head - not praying out loud - outside of an abortion clinic in Birmingham, England. While she was acquitted of the charges against her in her first arrest, we will see what happens this time. (See: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/mar/6/isabel-vaughan-spruce-again-arrested-thoughtcrime-/). The “thought police” are already here. This woman wasn’t violent, she wasn’t calling out the women who were walking into the abortion clinic as they went to get an abortion, she wasn’t admonishing those who perform abortions; she was simply praying in her head, perhaps praying that the women seeking an abortion would have a change of heart and would choose not to abort their babies but instead choose to give them life. As believers in Christ we will undergo more and more persecution such as this woman experienced, and we must choose if we will stand with God no matter the cost to our lives or cave to the powers that be.

The Old Testament prophet Daniel had to make a similar choice, and for him, it was a “no brainer”; he stood with God. He knew that his eternal security was worth more than anything that this world could offer him, even if it would cost him his life. Daniel was a Jewish young man, probably a teenager, when he and three of his friends were taken captive and exiled to Babylon when King Nebuchadnezzar had seized Judah when Israel and Judah were a divided kingdom of the Jews. Daniel had become prominent under the king because of his ability, through the power of Almighty God, to be able to tell to the king the dream that the king had dreamt which had troubled him greatly and Daniel was also able to interpret the dream, something which no one in the king’s palace had been able to, despite their lives being threatened by the king.

Daniel’s prominence continued to a subsequent king, King Belshazzar, an ancestor of King Nebuchadnezzar, perhaps his grandson. King Belshazzar had held a huge feast for over 1,000 people and had ordered his palace men to retrieve the holy vessels of the Jewish temple in Jerusalem that had been seized under Nebuchadnezzar. The king, his lords, his wives, his concubines all desecrated the vessels as they drank wine from them, all the while praising their false gods. In the same hour as they drank, there was a man’s hand that appeared on the wall and its fingers began to write something. The king saw it and became very afraid, so much so that “his knees knocked against each other.” Neither the king nor anyone in the palace could read what had been written on the wall. The queen, remembering that Daniel had been able to interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, told the king that Daniel should be called to give the interpretation. The king summoned Daniel, and Daniel did explain it. Daniel reminded the king that King Nebuchadnezzar had been humbled and had given praise and glory to the Most High God, Daniel’s God and not the Babylonian false gods, but that King Belshazzar had not humbled his heart though he had known that his grandfather did. Then Daniel interpreted the writing on the wall, which read: “MENE, MENE, TEKEL, UPHARSIN.” [“Upharsin is the plural of “Peres”] The interpretation was as follows:

“MENE: God has numbered your kingdom, and finished it; TEKEL: You have been weighed in the balances, and found wanting; PERES: Your kingdom has been divided, and given to the Medes and Persians.” (Daniel 5:26-28)

The Bible tells us that the Babylonian empire was overthrown that overnight, by the Medo-Persian Empire, ruled under King Darius. Daniel’s prominence continued under King Darius, who made Daniel one of only three governors to rule over 120 satraps, who were accountable to the governors. Daniel was excellent at his governorship, “because an excellent spirit was in him,” and the king even considered making him leader over the whole realm. Consequently, Daniel’s fellow governors and satraps were jealous of him and went on a mission to destroy him. They knew the only way they could do it was with something that was “concerning the law of his God.” Thus, they set a trap for Daniel. They encouraged the king to enact a royal statute and decree that, “whoever petitions any god or man for thirty day, except you, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions.” The king signed the decree, and the men who were jealous of Daniel watched to see what he would do. The Bible tells us what Daniel did:

“Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went home. And in his upper room, with his windows open toward Jerusalem, he knelt down on his knees three times that day, and prayed and gave thanks before his God, as was his custom since early days. Then these men assembled and found Daniel praying and making supplication before his God.” (Daniel 6:10-11)

The men reported Daniel to the king, who reluctantly ordered that Daniel be sent to the lions’ den. “But the king spoke, saying to Daniel, ‘Your God, whom you serve continually, He will deliver you.’” The king spoke truth. When the king came to the lions’ den early the next morning, he asked, “Daniel, servant of the living God, has your God, whom you serve continually, been able to deliver you from the lions?” Daniel answered him - he had survived! “My God sent His angel and shut the lions’ mouths, so that they have not hurt me, because I was found innocent before Him; also, O king, I have done no wrong before you.” Then King Darius gave a decree of truth:

“To all peoples, nations, and languages that dwell in all the earth: Peace be multiplied to you. I make a decree that in every dominion of my kingdom men must tremble and fear before the God of Daniel. For He is the living God, and steadfast forever; His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end. He delivers and rescues, and He works signs and wonders in heaven and on earth, who has delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.” (Daniel 6:25-27)

Just as the kingdom of the unrepentant and prideful king, King Belshazzar, was removed from him, so will the kingdoms of today’s rulers be removed from them by the mighty hand of God. Belshazzar was a man who knew of the miracle that Daniel had performed through the power and might of Almighty God of not only interpreting King Belshazzar’s grandfather’s dream but also telling his grandfather the dream he himself had dreamt. Daniel had later gone on to interpret another dream that his grandfather had dreamt. Belshazzar knew that his grandfather had given Daniel and his friends much responsibility in the Babylonian kingdom, and that his grandfather held them in high esteem and had praised Almighty God (Daniel 4:34-36).

Before Daniel had told King Nebuchadnezzar’s, Belshazzar’s grandfather’s dream to him and then interpreted it, Daniel prayed before God, and the secret - the dream and the interpretation of it - were revealed to him. Daniel then praised God, saying:

“Blessed be the name of God forever and ever, for wisdom and might are His. And He changes the times and the seasons; He removes kings and raises up kings; He gives wisdom to the wise and knowledge to those who have understanding. He reveals deep and secret things; He knows what is in the darkness, and light dwells within Him. I thank You and praise You, O God of my fathers; You have given me wisdom and might. And have now made known to me what we asked of You, for You have made known to us the king’s demand.” (Daniel 2:20-23)

Yet, knowing all of this, King Belshazzar chose to live a wicked and corrupt life, and in a drunken feast of 1,000 as he defiled the articles that had been seized from the God’s holy temple, Belshazzar “praised the gods of gold and silver, bronze and iron, wood and stone.” (Daniel 5:4). On that very night, Belshazzar was slain by the Medo-Persian Empire, and his kingdom fell and was taken by Darius the Mede. All it took was one night for all that Belshazzar had worked for all of his life to be taken from him. As Daniel had previously prayed, “He [God] removes kings and raises up kings.” God had removed King Belshazzar and raised up Darius the Mede. It was that way then, and it is that way now.

As in another praise and honor to God, King Nebuchadnezzar’s words stand true then and they stand true today. The king had become full of pride and he was humbled by God when his kingdom had been removed from him by God. The king heeded Daniel’s advice to him, “…break off your sins by being righteous, and your iniquities by showing mercy to the poor.” The king humbled himself, and his kingdom was restored to him by God:

“‘And at the end of the time I, Nebuchadnezzar, lifted my eyes to heaven, and my understanding returned to me; and I blessed the Most High and praised and honored Him who lives forever: For His dominion is an everlasting dominion, and His kingdom is from generation to generation. All the inhabitants of the earth are reputed as nothing; He does according to His will in the army of heaven and among the inhabitants of the earth. No one can restrain His hand or say to Him, “What have You done?”

‘At the same time my reason returned to me, and for the glory of my kingdom, my honor and splendor returned to me. My counselors and nobles resorted to me, I was restored to my kingdom, and excellent majesty was added to me. Now I, Nebuchadnezzar, praise and extol and honor the King of heaven, all of whose works are truth, and His ways justice. And those who walk in pride He is able to put down.”' (Daniel 4:34-37)

How many presidents, prime ministers, and other government and non-government rulers and leaders in our world today are puffed up tremendously with pride, living arrogantly, thinking they have put themselves in the positions in which they are in, that they are the “elite” and deserve to live luxuriously, and instead of serving those whom they represent, those whom they represent are supposed to serve them? How many enact laws, executive orders, mandates, etc., that they themselves do not follow but demand their countrymen to obey them? Oh, the time is coming when these same leaders and their kingdoms will be removed, every single one of them, for Jesus’ kingdom is coming, sooner than most think.

We are living in extremely critical times. For the unsaved, I ask you this: are you putting your faith and trust in world rulers, world organizations, and world governments to save you, knowing that they all will be dissolved, or are you putting your faith and trust in Jesus Christ, whose kingdom will never be brought down and will last from generation to generation?

For believers in Christ, we should not be living our lives in ungodliness and sin. We should be striving to be like Daniel who prayed to God despite the king’s decree against it and like the woman who was arrested for simply praying a prayer in her head, despite what the government forbade her to do, for it is against God. We must be faithful to God and not go the way of the world, for as Jesus told us, “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 7:13-14). Going the way of the world is the easy thing to do; it’s always difficult to go against the current, but it will be worth it in the end, when we are allowed entry into His eternal kingdom, “His kingdom is the one which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall endure to the end.” (Darius the Mede; Daniel 6:26c) ✝️

April 29, 2023: 2 Peter 3:10 - A Thief in the Night

“But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night, in which the heavens will pass away with a great noise, and the elements will melt with fervent heat; both the earth and the works that are in it will be burned up.” - 2 Peter 3:10

On February 6, 2023, a 7.8 magnitude earthquake severely rocked Turkey and Syria, awakening its residents in the darkness at 4:15 am. This devastating earthquake, which as of the date of this devotional has a combined death toll of nearly 60,000 people, came as a thief in the night. (See: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2023_Turkey–Syria_earthquake#:~:text=The%20confirmed%20death%20toll%20stood,disaster%20in%20its%20modern%20history.) There are reports that a Dutch seismologist named Frank Hoogerbeets had issued a warning via Twitter on February 3, 2023. “Hoogerbeets issued a tweet that read: ‘Sooner or later there will be a magnitude 7.5 earthquake in this region (South-Central Turkey, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon).’” See: https://www.tasnimnews.com/en/news/2023/03/01/2861209/seismologist-who-predicted-turkey-earthquake-issues-another-warning). While this warning specifically named countries that would be affected, no one knew exactly when it would happen.

There is something coming that will make the destruction that happened in Turkey and Syria pale in comparison. There is a book that gives warning after warning, but sadly, most are not reading it and are not heeding it. The book is the Holy Bible, written by men as they received the word of God to warn the world of the coming judgment and how it can be escaped by believing in His Son Jesus Christ as Redeemer of their sin. Those who are not reading, hearing, and heeding His word have no idea what is to come upon this planet; to them, it will come like a thief in the night.

The Bible has quite a number of Scriptures that speak on the day of the Lord that Peter wrote about in today’s Scripture verse, including:

“But concerning the times and the seasons, brethren, you have no need that I should write to you. For you yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so comes as a thief in the night. For when they say, ‘Peace and safety!’ then sudden destruction comes upon them, as labor pains upon a pregnant woman. And they shall not escape. But you, brethren, are not in darkness, so that this Day should overtake you as a thief. You are all sons of light and sons of the day. We are not of the night nor of darkness. Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation. For God did not appoint us to wrath, but to obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ, who dies for us, that whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with Him. Therefore comfort each other and edify one another, just as you also are doing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:1-11)

This Scripture is packed full of information for those who read it:

• There is a clear distinction between “you” and “them.” When Paul refers to “you,” he is speaking to his fellow believers in Christ. The “them” are the unbelievers, those who did not accept the free gift of salvation through believing in Jesus as their Savior.

• The Lord comes in the night. The night, or darkness, is often represented in the Bible as evil and in unbelief, such as when Jesus said:

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed,. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:18-21)

• There is coming a time when people will proclaim “Peace and safety!” thinking that they are entering into a time of peace and when they feel safe. However, that is a false sense of peace and safety, and one which I believe the coming final antichrist will promote and pretend to desire when he confirms a covenant with Israel and other nations, as described in Daniel 9:27. Prior to confirmation of a covenant with Israel, the Bible tells us that Israel will be under threat even more so than it is today, especially in Jerusalem. While we don’t know the exact timing of this prophecy, we do know that something must happen that will cause the antichrist to sign the 7-year covenant with Israel and other nations.

  “Behold, I will make Jerusalem a cup of drunkenness [reeling] to all the surrounding peoples when they lay siege against Judah and Jerusalem. And it shall happen in that day that I will make Jerusalem a very heavy stone for all peoples; all who would heave it away will surely be cut in pieces, though all nations of the earth are gathered against it.” (Zechariah 12:2-3)

  There are many Christians who believe that the world’s problems will all converge and the unsaved people will cry out for someone to fix everything. I believe we are very close to seeing this happen. Because they have not accepted Jesus as their Savior, they will be deceived, by their own choice, into believing this man is the savior of the world, the one man they believe can fix the world and bring it back to the “normal” they long for. This idea is not far-fetched; consider the following quote from Paul Henri Spaak, first president of the UN General Assembly, first president of the European Parliament, and a former secretary general of NATO:

  “We do not need another committee. We have too many already. What we want is a man of sufficient stature to hold the allegiance of all people, and to lift us out of the economic morass into which we are sinking. Send us such a man and be he god or devil, we will receive him.”

  (See: https://ministry127.com/resources/illustration/many-will-follow-the-antichrist)

  In the Bible, Daniel chapter 7 foretells of this world ruler and his coming one world government. Daniel had a vision of it:

  “After this I saw in the night visions, and behold, a fourth beast, dreadful and terrible, exceedingly strong. It had huge iron teeth; it was devouring, breaking in pieces, and trampling the residue with its feet. It was different from all the beasts [i.e., the former empires of Babylon, Medo-Persian, and Greece] that were before it, and it had ten horns. I was considering the horns, and there was another horn, a little one, coming up among them, before whom three of the first horns were plucked out by the roots. And there, in this horn, were eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words.” (Daniel 7:7-8)

  The fourth beast is the Roman Empire, and many believe the final antichrist, referred to as the one with “eyes like the eyes of a man, and a mouth speaking pompous words” will come from a revived Roman empire. Daniel’s vision is then interpreted in the Bible:
  “The fourth beast shall be a fourth kingdom on earth, which shall be different from all other kingdoms, and shall devour the whole earth, trample it and break it in pieces. The ten horns are ten kings who shall arise from this kingdom. And another shall rise after them; he shall be different from the first ones, and shall subdue three kings. He shall speak pompous words against the Most High [God], shall persecute the saints of the Most High [many Christians believe these are the people who have turned to Jesus during the tribulation period, not believers in Christ who are raptured/caught up to Him before the start of the tribulation period], and shall intend to change times and law. Then the saints shall be given into his hand for a time and times and half a time.” (Daniel 7:23-25)

  Are we not already seeing many global organizations now, pushing to eliminate independent sovereignty of countries, hating nationalism and loving globalism? Examples of such organizations include the World Economic Forum (WEF), World Health Organization (WHO, United Nations, World Government Summit, and many others. In the past, the United Nations has previously divided the world into ten regional grouping in its “Local Agenda 21 - The UN Plan for Your Community.” It has already succeeded in implementing much of its plan and now is on to Agenda 2030, about which we have heard a lot recently. (For more information on the ten groupings, the UN’s plan, and how it relates to Bible prophecy, see: http://nuclearsuntan.blogspot.com/2011/11/un-divides-world-into-10-regional.html).

  There is also the push to move from a cash-based monetary system to the Central Bank Digital Currency (CDBC) system. CDBC will ultimately be centralized and controlled by the one world government. With that, it has all the power it needs for the coming final antichrist to control the world’s population by requiring all to take the mark of the beast (i.e., Satan) or the number of his name (i.e., 666) and worship his image in order to buy or sell. Possibly bringing us one step closer to the mark of the beast system, a US digital identity bill passed through to the Senate on April 6, 2023.

  The Bible tells us in 2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 that God will put people under a strong delusion because of their rejection of His Son Jesus and the truth. Consequently, they will believe the lie of the antichrist:

  “The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders, and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this reason, God will send them strong delusion, that they should believe the lie, that they all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.” (2 Thessalonians 2:9-12)

  As Jesus said, “…and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.” Instead of listening to God, they believed the lie. Instead of getting peace and safety, they will enter into a 7-year time of tribulation upon the earth, known as the time of Jacob’s trouble, in which it will be like a woman giving birth, where the pains start as mild and far between, but as that baby is ready to be delivered, the pains are extremely painful, with little or no time in between to catch any relief. In some ways, it seems like we are already in this time. Just think of everything that has happened already in the first four months of 2023. The second half of the tribulation, the last 3-1/2 years, a total of 1,260 days, will be the worst time in human history in a period known as the “Great Tribulation.” This is when the antichrist will break his covenant with Israel and will declare himself as God in the recently built Jewish third temple, committing the abomination of desolation. It is only then that the Jews’ eyes will finally be opened and they will realize that he is not their Messiah but antichrist and will be on Him as their prophesied Messiah.

  The Bible is clear, everyone who does not believe in Jesus as their Savior will not escape from this terrible time. The only thing a person can do during the 7-year tribulation period is to turn to Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Savior, and it likely will cost them their lives. The Bible tells us that those who do not take the mark of the beast or the number of his name (i.e., 666) and worship his image, will be killed. (Revelation 13:16-17) To delay in making a decision to follow Jesus is not only putting one’s life at risk but also damning one’s eternal destination.

• Now, we read about those who are not in darkness but in light, those who chose to follow Jesus instead of rejecting Him. In 1 Thessalonians 5:4-11, Paul writes encouraging words and also cautionary words to believers in Christ. We are not to sleep, being unaware of the things that are to come, as prophesied in the Bible, we are to be awake and we are to be on guard. We are to pay attention to what is happening in the world and see how it aligns with the prophecies in the Scripture, and we must do this with a clear mind, not one clouded by the effects of alcohol, which hinders one’s ability to think clearly. We are to put on the armor or God in order to fight continually, in God’s power and might, against the spiritual battle that is being waged against us, for Satan wants to steal our soul away from God. We must put on the breastplate of faith, which guards our heart, and the helmet, which guards our head, as we remember where our hope is: in our salvation that is received only through our belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior; He is our salvation. The breastplate and the helmet of salvation guard our hearts and our minds so that we trust not in our feelings, as the world does, but with our minds, remembering the promise of Jesus Christ: “He who believes in Him [Jesus] is not condemned.'“

  Further, we are not appointed to God’s wrath. There is a difference between undergoing tribulations that we face each day and God’s wrath. God’s wrath is appointed for those who reject His Son. They are given every opportunity to turn to Him, even during the 7-year tribulation period. God will sends no one to hell; rather, people choose, in their unbelief, to go there when they die, rather they believe in it or not.

For those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ to save us from our sins, our future is one of light and hope, not of darkness and destruction. As the book of Daniel promises, the coming kingdom of God is one that will never be destroyed and only those who are saved by the blood of Jesus will be allowed entry into it.

“But the court shall be seated, and they shall take away his [antichrist’s] dominion, to consume and destroy it forever. Then the kingdom and dominion, and the greatness of the kingdoms under the whole heaven, shall be given to the people, the saints of the Most High [all who have been saved by Jesus Christ]. His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey Him.” (Daniel 7:26-27)

As Peter said in today’s Scripture passage, the earth and the heavens will be burned up, and God will create a new heaven and a new earth:

“Now I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea.” (Revelation 21:1)

This is where the kingdom of God will be, and only those saved by the precious blood of Jesus will be allowed to enter it. Which kingdom will you enter into in your eternity, Satan’s or God’s?

“‘I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,’ says the Lord, ‘who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.’” (Jesus Christ; Revelation 1:8) ✝️

April 26, 2023: 2 Peter 3:9 - God Wants All to Turn to Him

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” - 2 Peter 3:9

Why has it taken so long for God to send Jesus to earth a second time and in righteousness, judge the ungodly? Because God wants all of us to realize our need for Jesus, the One He sent so that we could accept of the free gift that cleanses us of all our sins - Jesus’ precious blood He shed on the cross and His subsequent resurrection - for without partaking of His free gift, we receive our due reward for sin: to be separated from Jesus for eternity in a place called hell.

Why do many people think that God should not judge the wicked? Do we expect our society not to judge those who commit crimes, just to let them go so that they can keep on committing them, no matter the cost to the innocent? If sin was left unpunished, we would have a complete collapse of society. I believe we are definitely headed in that direction. In a world that is increasingly rejecting Jesus Christ and believing that there is no God, sin is not sin, and we won’t be punished for it in this life or the next, everything starts to crumble, and eventually, it will implode upon itself. When God’s standards are not upheld in society, we are left with movements such as “defund the police,” only certain lives matter, which does not include the precious life of an unborn baby in its mother’s womb, promoting assisted suicide and devaluing the lives of the sick and the elderly, pushing rampant sexual perversion, worshipping of the climate instead of God, thinking that we can be our own gods and attempting to create our own immortality, and it never stops; it grows more wicked by the day.

We are all wicked in our hearts, as the Bible tells us:

“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?” (Jeremiah 17:9)

The world tells us to follow our hearts, which is the complete opposite of what the Bible tells us, of what Jesus told His disciples:

“Follow Me.” (Jesus Christ; Matthew 4:19)

“My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.” (Jesus Christ; John 10:27)

God will, at some point, determine that enough is enough, just as He did in the days of Noah and Lot. But this time, when He will send His Son Jesus Christ, it won’t be a rescue mission like it was the first that He came to earth; rather, it will be when the King of kings and Lord of lords comes to earth, clothed in a robe dipped in blood, with His armies in heaven with Him, all riding on white horses to “tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God” and will destroy with the sword of His mouth all who chose to remain in their wickedness, loving their sin and not turning to Jesus (Revelation 19:11-21). He paid the debt for all their sins and all they had to do was to accept that free gift, but they chose not to, for whatever reason. When the day comes when God has had enough and sends Jesus to destroy the wicked, those who rejected His free gift, they will forever regret the horrific decision they made. God gave them time, even delaying His judgment, but they said “No thank you” to God. Will you say “No thank you” to God, or will you turn to Jesus and be saved from all your sins before time is up? May the unsaved heed Jesus’ words today, while they still have breath in their lungs:

“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. He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (Jesus Christ; John 3:16-19) ✝️

April 25, 2023: 2 Peter 3:8: Beloved, Do Not Forget this One Thing

“But beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.’ - 2 Peter 3:8

Eternity and time. Humans cannot fully understand eternity but we understand time. There is no concept of time in eternity, for it is without measure. When there is no beginning and there is no end, there is nothing that is measured in between; it just is and always has been. That is God’s reality. His reality is so much different than ours.

From the moment we are conceived in our mother’s womb, our time clock begins, seeming slow at first, but speeding up with great intensity as we near our own finish line. We measure everything in time: our parents count down the months until we are born, and once we are born, how long will it take until we can crawl, talk, and walk. As we grow and start school, we count the days before school is let out and we can enjoy the summer as a child, how many years until we can start dating, how many days or months until the wedding date comes, how many hours until we get off of work, how many years until we retire; everything in our lives is measured by our brief time here on this earth. We have such a brief stay here, and sadly, some have very short lifespans, that we try to do all that we can before we die. People tell us, “We only live once, make this your best life now.” However, that is a fallacy and a deception of Satan. Our lives here on earth are a temporary stay on our way to our true lives when we are in eternity. Where we will spend our eternity is completely our decision.

There are many today who are doubting the return of Jesus Christ because it has been almost two thousand years since He died, resurrected, and ascended to heaven. There were many in the days of the apostles of Christ who looked for His return in their own time, and many have looked since then, and many in our generation today are early awaiting His return. But we have to remember that His return is on His time, God’s time, and not our own. He is not constrained by a finite number of days of living, as we are. Just because He has not returned does not mean He will not return; He will. The Bible promises it, and it will be done. If we just look at the span of time that was before the promises of His first coming and when He actually did come, it was a long time. We don’t know exactly when the book of Genesis was written and which timeframe it covers, but it was a very long time prior to the first coming of Christ. It was in the book of Genesis that the first prophecy of Jesus was made in Genesis 3:15, “And I will put enmity between you [Satan] and the woman, and between your seed and her Seed; He shall bruise your head, and you shall bruise His heel.’ And exactly as prophesied in the Bible, Jesus was born and Satan caused Him to be crucified, including having a nail driven through His heel. But that is not the end. As Jesus Himself told His disciples, He will come again, He will defeat Satan and all who follow him, and Jesus will take His rightful, righteous reign upon the earth for 1,000 years, followed by the destruction of the earth and the creation of a new heavens and a new earth, in which only those who have put their faith and trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior will live, without sorrow, death, and pain, for sin will be no more. But those who have not put their faith and trust in Jesus will spend their eternity where there is only sin, only sorrow, pain, deep anguish, tears, and eternal death from which they cannot escape.

Why should we trust in the promises of God that He made through His word, the Holy Bible? Because everything that He has promised either has already happened or will come true at some point, in His perfect timing, not in ours. All we need to do is to look at all of the prophecies that have already been fulfilled and we can know and be confident that His word is sure, His word is true, and what it says will happen, will happen, at just the right time. ✝️