Matthew 24:3-13

3 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?”

4 Jesus answered: “Watch out that no one deceives you. 5 For many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and will deceive many. 6 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. 7 Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. 8 All these are the beginning of birth pains.

9 “Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. 10 At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, 11 and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. 12 Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold, 13 but the one who stands firm to the end will be saved. 14 And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.

Revelation 6 – The First Four Seals

1 I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!” 2 I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

3 When the Lamb opened the second seal, I heard the second living creature say, “Come!” 4 Then another horse came out, a fiery red one. Its rider was given power to take peace from the earth and to make people kill each other. To him was given a large sword.

5 When the Lamb opened the third seal, I heard the third living creature say, “Come!” I looked, and there before me was a black horse! Its rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. 6 Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “Two pounds of wheat for a day’s wages, and six pounds of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”

7 When the Lamb opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth living creature say, “Come!” 8 I looked, and there before me was a pale horse! Its rider was named Death, and Hades was following close behind him. They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine and plague, and by the wild beasts of the earth.

Birth pains increase in intensity and frequency over time. This video illustrates that in a very powerful way just by looking at the last 100 years. Confirming bible prophecy is not the purpose of this video but it certainly does a good job of showing it in one 10 minute video.

What do you think of this? Are we coming up on the return of Christ in your opinion?

I happened to walk back into the room right as Luke was in the swamp with Yoda. Yoda was moving the x-wing fighter out of the swamp and onto land. After this, Luke looks at Yoda and, surprised that a small creature could move a giant spaceship, says, “I don’t believe it!!” To which Yoda responds, “That is why you fail…”

How many times do we as Christians fail for the same reason? We go to church and listen to sermons week after week. We study the Bible trying to understand what God’s will is for our lives. We have no shortage of knowledge, but having knowledge does to equate to belief.

To truly believe something, is to both know and to experience it to the point that you believe beyond a shadow of a doubt…

James, the half-brother of Jesus, wrote that Abraham was an example of this type of belief. It was his faith and his action that combined to both confirm and prove His absolute trust in God…

You foolish person, do you want evidence that faith without deeds is useless? Was not our father Abraham considered righteous for what he did when he offered his son Isaac on the altar? You see that his faith and his actions were working together, and his faith was made complete by what he did. And the scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was credited to him as righteousness,” and he was called God’s friend. You see that a person is considered righteous by what they do and not by faith alone. (James 2:20-24 NIV)

Luke did not fully believe in the strength of the force because he had very little experience with the force itself. How many Christians know a whole bunch about God and “think” they believe but are lacking the action which is the true evidence of a truly faithful heart.

And the words of the Lord are flawless,
like silver purified in a crucible,
like gold refined seven times. You, Lord, will keep the needy safe
and will protect us forever from the wicked, who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race. (Psalm 12:6-8 NIV)

There were a couple of things that stood out to me in
this passage. The first two are obvious but are good reminders for all of us as we move through our days.

1. the words of the Lord are flawless
2. You, Lord will keep the need safe and will protect us

For many Christians, these are obvious truths that we know, but how often do we take them for granted? When was the last time you took a look at the core truths from the Bible and really took them to heart?

God’s word is FLAWLESS… We can trust it… We can grow from it… God uses His word to communicate to us what we need to hear.

God does and continues to protect us every minute of our lives. We are his precious children and he wants to keep us safe and see us grow. Again, I know this is obvious and you’ve probably heard it a million times but have you ever really focused on it… Have you thought about what that really means?

The God of the Universe LOVES you and PROTECTS you… If He is for us, who can be against us… An important truth to remember in the days ahead…

The final truth that struck me this morning is the last verse in Psalm 12…

the wicked, who freely strut about
when what is vile is honored by the human race.

This description of the wicked by the Psalmist, probably written hundreds of years before Christ’s birth, speaks volumes about the world we live in today…

This statement speaks to the flawless word of God. Unfortunately in 21st century America we live in a time when the vial is honored by humans. Things the Bible speaks against directly are looked upon as okay in our society. Because of that, the “wicked” gain confidence and do strut around freely trying to mold our world into their differing view of what is right and good.

We need to be willing to stand up no matter the cost. If something is wrong, don’t shy away and hide your views in the corner – It does no good. We are living in times where passive Christianity is not an option anymore – It’s time to pick a side and actively defend it at all costs.

Which side of the fence are you on? You can’t play the middle of the road any more… Choose today whom you will serve…As for me and my house, we will serve the Lord…

The first was on humility, the second on gratitude, and the third on generosity. All of these are key elements in growing your relationship with God and becoming more like Jesus. I encourage you to go to adabible.org and listen to all three messages, they were all great.

God provided a great opportunity last night as I watched a movie that seem to summarize and visualize what it means to see these three characteristics working in concert together. I watched the hallmark movie The Christmas Shoes (bring tissues if you watch it). It’s an amazing story of both a mans journey from selfish workaholic to self less humility, generosity, and gratitude, and a boys journey to give his mom one last special gift before she goes to meet Jesus.

As these two stories continually cross paths, you are taken through a journey that helps better understand how God is in control and everything happens for a reason. More importantly you see love, forgiveness, and transformation happen. It is one of the better depictions of what Christian character and these three characteristics I have seen in a long time.

Along with the sermons mentioned above, I recommend this movie as well. This is the type of thing we all need to do more of. Love and serve others and serve others in their times of need and trust that God will take care of us.

Each of the different instruments have their part to play and sometimes it is beautiful and some times it seems like just a series of notes. But when it all comes together and everyone is playing it is an amazing sound….

Each one of us is unique and has a specific purpose in God’s plan… Individually your part may seem boring or difficult but without that part the musical piece God is creating is not complete…your part is just as vital as the one “playing the beautiful melody.” don’t ever doubt your,significance in God’s masterpiece.

When you take the Word of God and combined it with the lives of other guys – it’s amazing how God’s Word, yet again, can transform your life.

I would concur with some of the guys comments this morning after finishing a discussion on chapter 31.

For me, The Story was a great way to get the overall story of the Bible from a “50,000″ foot level in most cases and it was the community of guys that really brought it down to a more personal impact level.

I enjoyed exploring the many stories of faith, both highs and lows, and ultimately the hopeful victory in the end – that is, the Bible.

If you’re like me, and you just can’t get through the Bible from cover to cover, I would definitely recommend reading The Story from Zondervan… Two Thumbs Up!!

This verse came into my inbox this morning after my previous post…. I thought it fit well…

I know i struggle to love others well…How well do you love others?

Last night, I went out with some family members and we celebrated some milestones together with a 3 hour and 45 minute dinner at a great restaurant. I can assure you, I have never had that before… But as we wrapped up the meal (at least 4 courses later, I lost count), I began to wonder about how this related to Jesus and meals he shared…

One thing I’ve been taught about first century mid-east culture is that meals are more than just consuming food. It’s a time of community and fellowship like no other. I mean, that’s the whole point of it. The meals were long and the way food was presented was all about sharing and community. They made their meals a priority because spending time together was a priority.

I think we, in 21st century America, need to take some serious cues from this. How often do you sit down to a meal with the intention of just hanging out and getting to know the people closest to you even better…honestly…

Last night I experienced a incredible meal but more importantly we took time to just hang out and talk, relate, laugh, and have fun. It was the best meal I’ve had in a long time.

It all started with a logical question… Put yourself in their shoes, What would that be like and what would you be thinking going through all that?

For reference sake, here is a description of the 7th bowl judgement….

The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Then there came flashes of lightning, rumblings, peals of thunder and a severe earthquake. No earthquake like it has ever occurred since mankind has been on earth, so tremendous was the quake. The great city split into three parts, and the cities of the nations collapsed. God remembered Babylon the Great and gave her the cup filled with the wine of the fury of his wrath. Every island fled away and the mountains could not be found. From the sky huge hailstones, each weighing about a hundred pounds, fell on people. And they cursed God on account of the plague of hail, because the plague was so terrible. (Revelation 16:17-21 NIV)

Now you know why I said, “Ouch…”

Keep in mind that, in my understanding of Revelation, this happens towards the end of the 7 year tribulation. So one could say this is the worst it gets. This then is followed by the Battle of Armeggedon and the 1000 year reign of Jesus on earth.

But imagine going through this, what do you think people would be thinking or feeling? Would it be so great that only God could be “blamed” or will people try to explain it away? Would it be all about survival for you? Would cursing God or calling out to God even enter your mindset?

Let me know your thoughts….

“The quake was centered 27 miles east of Charlottesville, Va., near the town Mineral in Louisa County. The movement lasted for no more than 30 seconds. Minutes after the quake, the director of the USGS, Marcia McNutt — who watched objects falling from the shelves in her office — cautioned that the shaking might not be over. “What the concern is, of course, is that this is a foreshock. If it’s a foreshock, then the worst is yet to come,” McNutt told The Washington Post.”

What if this is just a sign of things to come? I am not predicting anything but when the USGS says this may have been a foreshock. Maybe we should all heed their warning. Don’t be caught by surprise – especially if we are about to experience God’s judgment. That is not something to take lightly.

Please be aware that there is no such thing as coincidence. God is in control of everything and I believe everything (big and small) happens for a reason. A quake near DC and if things happen like their projected right now a category 3 or 4 hurricane hits the same area… within days… What if God is fed up with the US and its leaders?

Now I may be wrong but there is a possibility that I could be right. I would recommend erring on the cautious side.

I am working on a post about events that are going to take place in September that individually would not mean much of anything but when you see that the majority of the events fall within the same 3 day window… Well, even the biggest skeptic should begin to take a look… More coming on that soon…