TGIF
I get frequent emails from readers who are aghast that I make fun of all the end times prophecy people.
My replies don’t make them feel any better.
I don’t believe that most of them actually believe the stuff they’re spouting… because if Jesus really is mounting His great white horse, some things don’t matter.
All the political stuff doesn’t matter.
The culture wars don’t matter.
Take a deep breath…America doesn’t matter.
What matters is Christ and how you conduct yourself as you await His arrival.
If you really, really, believe that Jesus is on the way, the Bible has instructions for you.
“The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling.As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace:whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.” (1 Peter 4:7–11 ESV)
“Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace.” (2 Peter 3:14 ESV)
The key to living in the end times isn’t understanding the place of Israel, fighting the godless liberals, or identifying the New World Order.
It’s living a life of holiness (being set apart), marked by the love of God, actively seeking the best for your neighbor.
It’s living a life filled with the peace of God that passes understanding in front of a fallen world.
If you really believe that Jesus is “at the door” do you want His return to find you blasting a brother or sister on Facebook for their political views?
Does your involvement in political disputes bring you peace and speak of the love of Christ or does it keep you angry and believing that you have many enemies?
I have no idea whether the return of Christ is upon us…I do know that I will be going to meet Him sooner than later.
I’m keeping short accounts with the people I love and trying to be more gracious to those I don’t.
I’m trying to serve people, not change them…change may come in response to that service.
I want to be caught loving someone in His name when He returns, not rebuking someone about things that are about to pass away.
I’m living in exile…
““Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce.Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease.But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (Jeremiah 29:4–7 ESV)
If you really believe the Lord is coming…act like it.
Make your own application…
Excellent, Michael!
I took a crass liberty and turned this into a Stinging meditation for an audience of One…
Every breath I take
Every move I make
Every bond I break,
Every step I take…
( |o )====::: (instrumental)
Every move I make and every vow I break
Every smile I fake, every claim I stake…
( |o )====::: (instrumental)
Every single day, every word I say
Every game I play, every night I stay…
( |o )====::: (instrumental)
<3
G,
Crass liberties are welcome here… 🙂
Oh great now “i’ll be watching you” will be in my head all day..
That said, Michael’s points are well stated… I’ve concluded that signs of the times cycle and gain in intensity… One of these cycles will be the final one, but our task is not to debate them
AAAAAAA-men!!
Nailed it!!!
Amen Jesus we love you Lord!!
The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let the one who hears say, “Come!” Let the one who is thirsty come; and let the one who wishes take the free gift of the water of life.
Revelation 22:17 NIV
https://revelation.bible/revelation-22-17
Thank you, Michael.
Michael
I think you’ve been reading Augustine…
“But I wish you to be without anxiety. He who is without anxiety waits without fear until his Lord comes. For what sort of love of Christ is it to fear his coming? Brothers, do we not have to blush for shame? We love him, yet we fear his coming. Are we really certain that we love him? Or do we love our sins more? Therefore let us hate our sins and love him who will exact punishment for them. He will come whether we wish it or not. Do not think that because he is not coming just now, he will not come at all. He will come, you know not when; and provided he finds you prepared, your ignorance of the time of his coming will not be held against you.”
Thank you for a wonderful post. I love the verse from Jeremiah and it is very encouraging to me at the moment. I am in Hawaii helping my daughter and her husband, who is stationed here at Wheeler Army Base. They have a new 6 week old son who has a minor issue feeding as he had to have surgery for tongue-tie. He was almost 12 lbs. at birth and he needs a lot of milk, but has trouble with his feedings. They also have a rambunctious three-year-old! I have been here three weeks and I am exhausted! The Jeremiah verse reminds us to love our own AND everyone else in the communities he has placed us in. What a wonderful reminder of how much God loves families and children, and that he wants us to live our lives to the fullest instead of second-guessing the future and making our neighbors into enemies because they belong to different political party or church.
Thanks for all the kind words folks.
I wish I could pull chunks of Augustine out of my memory like that… amazing stuff, Duane.
We all have time lines and I often say, “some of us are closer to the end of the age the others.”
What I fail to understand is the obsession with the end of the age when Jesus rarely talked about it and focused more on the days to day parts of life. I believe if people would actually carefully read their bibles it would be found God’s continual emphasis isn’t on the future, but on the day.
Maybe it’s the human propensity to always wanting to be somewhere else.
The grass must be greener in my neighbors yard.
MM,
A whole subculture sprung up around dispensational eschatology…making it much more vital than it really is.
I have enough to keep me busy day to day…
“ I have enough to keep me busy day to day…”
Agreed!
i can understand the aversion to a Church removal before all hell breaks loose here. However, as i wasn’t sucked up in the “end times” frenzy a short while ago – Hal Lindsey got his material from a pastor who shall stay nameless here – said pastor, a dispensationalist, as am i, i strongly disapproved of making it the focus of our day. It has a place, but…
Michael and others here are – IMO – correct in saying that we are here to occupy with Christ and all that entails (as Ambassadors from another kingdom?).
IMV we are given an outline of how things are planned to play out in order to reassure us, not sidetrack us….
Dunno, though, do i. 😇
Em
Here’s my question, what can any of us do about the end of this age and the coming of the Lord?
Answer; live each day.
But that’s too simple, doesn’t sell books and make people famous.
BTW Em,
So, about the rapture/removal of the church; frankly what difference does it really make? Assuming the Messiah does return on His schedule, why should we even care about a rapture?
The cynical me says people are using fear to prey on others for their own gain, whether it be financial or some other motive. Reminds me of how popular the book series, ‘Left Behind,’ was. Of course Harry Potter has also been a huge publishing success. So what does that say about us?
He will work out the end of each of our personal ages, that I am sure of and live with it in peace.
why should we even care about a rapturing out of the Church… i am a mid-triber removal of the Church, myself… there is a great deal of correlation and description of those last 7 years (if you are literal about it)…
i’m not here to teach, but i read that at a certain point God pours out His vials of wrath onto the earth and call me a sissy, but i don’t want to be here for that, so… i think we, the Church are called out and then, after a period of time, Christ comes back to rule and reign down here (i think a thousand years… time will tell) and we come back with Him…. i don’t believe the mainline churches teach that and i have no problem, so long as they teach that we do have responsibilities here as members of the Body of Christ for as long as we live…
God keep
A resurrected guy and a mortal walk into a bar…
The resurrected guy passes right through, the mortal yells, “ouch, that really hurts!”. LOL
The longer I live, the more I think the greatest amazement or miracle of heaven for us will be we will all love each other, finally, and no one will more deeply enjoy the experience, maybe even with tears of joy, than He, through whose blood we’re all joined.