an earthquake in China today killed many thousands.
several days ago, a cyclone in Myanmar killed many many thousands.
things are happening all over the world that Jesus spoke about:
Matthew 24:3-8
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ,' and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains.
and as weird as this may seem, i see the Lord's hand in this clip below too (bottom). i don't watch American Idol (except for the funny auditions in the beginning) so i had no idea this had occurred some odd weeks ago. but when i saw this YouTube clip of some of the finalists singing one of the greatest praise songs ever, "Shout to the Lord," my heart screamed, in a good way.American Idol is a hugely popular, secular show, that MILLIONS of people watch - everywhere. and on that stage, millions of people got to witness them singing a song that proclaims "MY JESUS, MY SAVIOR, Lord there is none like you!"
WOW. Jesus says in Matthew 24"this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come." In other words, when every ear on this planet has heard the gospel of Jesus Christ, He will then return. since He hasn't come back yet, there must still be people in parts of the world that have never heard about Jesus and the path to salvation. they have to be given an opportunity to receive salvation, and how can they if they haven't yet heard? but there are missionaries going out into ALL parts of the earth, teaching the Good News of our Jesus.
as hokey as it may sound, i can totally see how even something like a television show such as American Idol, through this portion alone, could be helping to advance the Lord's Kingdom in much the same way. someone somewhere could have seen that and been inspired to give their lives to Christ.
He's coming y'all.
it may be years, it may be decades, it may be months, it may be days...only God the Father knows. but are we ready??
so you want to know why i talk about sin, and repentance, and living holy for the Lord? you want to know why i like to get right up into the face of sin, into the face of lies being preached all over the world that Jesus isn't who He says He is, that God doesn't exist, that you can pray to Buddha and still be saved, that Jesus was just a prophet or just some good man, but was not the divine Son of God who died for our sins and rose again, that there are many paths to God?
that's why. because He's coming. whether we're ready or not, He's coming back. i'm just trying to do my part to make sure i'm ready, and to help anyone who hears to get ready also.
Jesus also illustrated a great message about our being ready for His return in this same chapter of Matthew:
For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left.
Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come. But understand this: If the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and would not have let his house be broken into. So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him. Who then is the faithful and wise servant, whom the master has put in charge of the servants in his household to give them their food at the proper time? It will be good for that servant whose master finds him doing so when he returns. I tell you the truth, he will put him in charge of all his possessions. But suppose that servant is wicked and says to himself, 'My master is staying away a long time,' and he then begins to beat his fellow servants and to eat and drink with drunkards. The master of that servant will come on a day when he does not expect him and at an hour he is not aware of. He will cut him to pieces and assign him a place with the hypocrites, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.
this passage is a chilling but inspiring reminder that we must be ready at ALL TIMES, because Jesus is coming back when we least expect it. that's why i urge us to get ourselves together and clean up some things in our lives. that's why i urge us to stop riding both sides of the fence - either be for Christ or be against Him, but we can't be both.
i don't want to be that servant who's doing wicked things when my Master returns unexpectedly. i don't want you to be either.
that's why despite all the temptations to try to blend in with the world, we have to be vigilant and set ourselves apart. yes, teach others the ways of Christ and love with everything we have in us, but also make sure we are not conforming, that everything we do, we do for the glory of our Father.
when Jesus comes back, what is He going to find us doing? shaking it up in the clubs, waking up from a hangover, in the middle of some other activity that we surely wouldn't do if Jesus were standing right there? (i'm talking to myself here too because there's a lot i do that i know i wouldn't do if Jesus himself were sitting in the chair right beside me - just thought i'd put that out there before anyone starts to call me self-righteous).
i think about all the things i used to do, even after i professed Christ many years ago. but i let myself slip into a lot of behaviors that were oh so un-Christlike. what would i have done if Jesus had come back then? if He had returned and i was shaking my behind to some ungodly trashy song in a club, my drink in my hand, what would i have said to Him? what would He have said to me??? how could i call Him "Lord" if all that i was doing was part of the sin that He was crucified for in the first place?
i shudder at the thought because i can't imagine Him applauding my behaviors, and when i remember those days (and many more) i am overwhelmed with thanksgiving that He allowed me time to get it together, that HE got me together, and that He has cleaned up all of that mess from my heart. i didn't deserve second, third, and fourth chances. i should have been the one standing there trembling in fear as my Lord told me to depart from Him because He never knew me. i should have died in my sins - that's what i deserved. but because of His grace and mercy, i'm still here. He gave me the gift of time.
and if you're still breathing, He has given you the gift of time that so many others before you have not had, so many who have died without Him. all you have to do is open your heart to Jesus and let Him in. He has already opened His heart and His arms to you, from before you were even born. He wants you, and He wants you to want Him.
that's why now, i'm so hard on myself about sin, and i'm so urgent with people about sin, about accepting the gift of salvation, about giving all that we are over to the Lord. i don't want us to be caught out there. when the Father says it's time, it's time, whether we've decided to get it together or not.
plus, i want Him to come...soon! i'm tired of this earth, this life, and everything in it. Lord, use me! let me be an instrument. we need you to come back now.
i better make sure i'm ready.
this is beautiful - watch if you have time! to me, this is nothing short of amazing - this is not a Christian-themed show. so the fact that they even "allowed" a performance that was specifically about singing praise to Jesus to be on a show that is broadcast across nations, especially a nation like America that wants to be politically correct and never show bias to one faith or another, this is amazing to me. GOD is working, even in television!!!!
