Nearing the End?

What a roller coaster ride we are on right now. A new president, the financial crisis, rumors of wars in the middle east, Israel surrounded by enemies and wondering if America is still her friend and more. I read someone today on the internet who said that we could still be a thousand years or more until Christ returns. That is the response of many today, many who profess a love of Jesus and want to spend their eternity in heaven. Yet they don't believe that He is really coming soon. Or maybe they don't really believe He is coming at all. After all it has been 2000 years since He was killed. That's a long time in anyone's calendar.

The length of time is causing many to wonder "is He really coming"? That is when atheists chime in and say, yeah, Christians have been saying that for 2000 years and He's not here yet. Like Jesus is on their time frame or something. Remember for God, time has no meaning. Time does not exist except for us here on earth and only until He returns.

The church is being dulled into sleep by the length of time yet with everything happening around us we should be shouting in the streets, Repent, be saved and get ready for the Kingdom is near. Christ is coming - SOON! I don't hear many Christians saying that though. Most are embroiled in wondering how they are going to cope without a job, without their retirement savings, without their nest eggs. We are focused on the things of this world, exactly where satan wants us to have our thoughts. The church has become apathetic towards the return of Jesus Christ. It is more interested in enough money to build that new wing on the church.

It kind of gets me back to one of my first postings. Does the church really believe the bible? Is it true? When Jesus said He is coming back did He really mean it or was He just pulling our strings? Belief is an action and there isn't much action for the Kingdom in the church today.

You know what I find interesting? That God in His infinite wisdom told us down to the very day when to expect His Son the first time. He told us over 100 prophecies concerning His son so that people would know what to look for and what to expect. Some people were looking for Him and those that were looking found Him. There were many, many more however who were not looking and they did not see Him and in fact even took part in fulfilling the prophecies about His death. They were so wrapped up in their doctrines and their lives that they completely missed the first coming of Jesus Christ.

I find it ironic that today we are in the same position. Aren't we supposed to be so much smarter than they were back then? There are those who are looking, watching for the return of Christ. They know they are very close and the time is here that God wrote about in His Word. They are waiting with expectant hearts and wide open arms. But most aren't. Most are apathetic at best. Most don't even want to talk about it. They aren't interested. Most say, well even Jesus doesn't know the hour or the day line of scripture. Or He will come as a thief in the night. Problem is they are taking verses out of context and time.

Jesus did not know when He left this earth but as soon as He ascended He knew. He knows exactly when He's coming back. And He told us in His Revelation to the apostle John when to expect Him to come back. The thief in the night is for those of the world who do not know Christ and are not looking for Him at all. For those of us watching we do know.

I spoke with an 81 year old bible prophecy teacher the other day. He has been studying Daniel and Revelation for almost 30 years. He said that he fully expects to be alive when Jesus returns; that we are so very close to that time. We are at door step of eternity right now.

Acts 1:9-11
9 And after He had said these things, He was lifted up while they were looking on, and a cloud received Him out of their sight.
10 And as they were gazing intently into the sky while He was going, behold, two men in white clothing stood beside them.
11 They also said, Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.

Revelation 19:11-13
11 And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war.
12 His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself.
13 He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called the Word of God.

Jesus Christ, the King of all, is coming - SOON! Please get your priorities in order and get ready to receive your King. Money, stuff, job doesn't matter. Relationship with Him does. Pray for your loved ones to accept Christ as their Savior and put away the world. Be a light to those around you who don't know Him yet. The time is almost done for them to repent and accept Him. Soon it will be too late. This is not the time to be complacent and spend our time worrying about what is going on around us. This is the time to be in our Lord Jesus Christ because He truly is our only hope.

Ellis Skolfield - End of Days, Islam, and what about the Tribulation???

I just have to recommend another excellent read for those of you who love end times and prophecy. This is another entirely new thought process and you will need to go into it very open minded. I first read some of Ellis Skolfields work a few years ago when I was a firm believer in a pretribulation rapture according to the Left Behind series of books. I read a bit and put it down thinking man he is way out in left field and I don't want to read another thing. So I didn't. Until last week.

Funny the path that God puts us on. I'm convinced that our journey will take us as far as our obedience to God will. The minute the obedience stops, so does the knowledge, widsom and understanding. Every day I ask God for those three things and I work to be obedient to His Word, the Bible. And He continues to reward me by leading me on a path of more and more knowledge of Him and His ways.

Matthew 7:8 "For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened.

Many people are taught this verse in relation to their physical life. A nice house, car, bank account, etc. I believe this verse means to ask for spiritual gifts and they will be given to you. Gifts of understanding, knowledge and wisdom are gifts that I desire from my God and I believe He is and has given them to me.

So back to the topic at hand. Mr. Ellis Skolfield. Last week I happened across his work again. In fact twice it was shown to me in different ways. This is where the obedience kicks in. I try not to make God show me too many times or I think He just might stop showing me. So I looked Mr. Skolfield up again. I read through his website. http://www.ellisskolfield.com/

Mr. Skolfield has many letters, articles and books free online just for the time to download them. This is a big thing to me. That this information is out there at no charge shows a giving heart by Mr. Skolfield.

I downloaded and printed off the book, The Last Prophet. Approximately 190 pages and read it, finishing it over the weekend. Get ready for a major paradigm shift in your end times thinking. You may be like me a few years ago and throw it to the ground saying, that's absurd. Or you may be like me now, going hmmmmmm...let's see what the bible says about this.....oh my well this is starting to make a lot of good sense.

We've all heard of the 7-year tribulation, 3.5 year great tribulation, antichrist, mark of the beast, false prophet, and all the rest of the end times verbiage. Prophecies in Daniel, Matthew, Ezekiel and of course Revelation have peaked curiosities for centuries. Problem is, according to Mr. Skolfield, none of those prophecies could possibly make sense until 1948 and 1967. Why? Two reasons: Israel and Jerusalem.

Want to know more? Go to http://www.ellisskolfield.com/ and click on books & essays. On that page you will see a free download for chapters 1 - 9 and 10 -17 of the False Prophet. You will also see several other free downloads for your reading pleasure.

Enjoy and let me know what you think. I'd love to hear your opinion.

God's War on Terror by Walid Shoebat

Are you interested in End Times prophecy? Do you want to know if what is happening in the middle east right now will affect America? Do you wonder if the bible is really true and the things it says really will happen? Then this is one book you will want to add to the top of your reading list.

After finishing this book I truly believe this man was saved out of a life of terrorism for the purpose of alerting God's people to what is coming our way. I won't go into the entire history of Walid as you can go to his site to read his amazing story of salvation. http://www.shoebat.com/

I will briefly tell you that he was born in Israel to an Arab father and Christian mother. Walid grew up as a PLO terrorist and then became a Christian and changed his life. He spends his life teaching people about the dangers of Islam and this book shows God's prophecies from the bible and how Islam plays a major role in the end times.

As a watcher I read everything I can get my hands on. Then I put it up against scripture. Most don't hold up. I don't think anyone is going to have it 100% correct until it's over but there are some very discerning authors out there that I believe God is using.

The point is that we've been listening to prophecy teachers teach the same old thing for a long time. They keep passing it down and we all just believe it. God took this man who was an avowed PLO terrorist and hated Jews and Christians and God saved him. Why? Maybe, just maybe, it is a part of God's plan to warn His people. The bible states time after time that God gives His people warning before things happen. I believe that God is the same today as He was in the bible. He hasn't changed. He is still going to send messengers with warnings. And there are going to be many who just disregard it because it doesn't fit their picture of who, what, where and how. Or it's going to come from someone that doesn't fit their image of a messenger from God. Which are you?

I've done my due diligence on this and I am confident that there is a lot of truth in what he wrote and I am blessed to have the knowledge. I have a peace that does surpass all understanding that wasn't as present before as it is now.

This is a link for a 6-minute video introducing the book. http://www.joelstrumpet.com/?p=1339

Be sure to post your thoughts after you've read the book. Looking forward to hearing from you!

Kathe

Where have I been? And today's churches...

I haven't written since mid-January. I really haven't had much to say lately. Busy taking it all in I guess. Today I have some things on my heart. I'm sad. Very sad. At the state of our churches today.

Where did it all go? I'm talking about talking about the Kingdom of God and the coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Why don't churches talk about it anymore?

When you read the apostles in the bible that's pretty much all they talk about. They were so excited about Jesus coming back. After all they knew Him in person and they loved Him and they couldn't wait to see Him again. Even the early church fathers taught that Jesus could come back anytime and that we as Christians needed to be ready.

Seems we have lost that these days. Churches now talk about how to handle finances, how to have a good marriage, how to be a good parent, etc. There is little or no talk about getting ready to face the coming tribulation and how to hold out until the end. The end is when Jesus comes back. Maybe our church leaders don't really believe that it's going to happen and that's why they don't teach it? Maybe they are too wrapped up in getting more people in the seats to pay for their buildings? I don't know. I really don't.

I really don't understand it either. The bible says that pastors and teachers will be held to a higher accountability than the average person. Why? Because they are responsible in part, for their flocks. So you would think that they would feel an added burden to make sure their flock was totally prepared to go through tribulation.

So I can only conclude that either (a) pastors don't really believe the bible or (b) they really don't think these things are going to happen in our lifetime so it doesn't really matter right now.

I don't know what else to think. I believe God says what He means and He means what He says. When He says we must endure to the end I believe Him. When He says that if I read the book of Revelation I will be blessed I believe Him. I believe that by reading it, and the rest of His word, that I will be prepared to endure to the end. Whether that means making it all the way to Christs return at the end of tribulation or a martyrs death, I will endure for Christ. No matter what.

Are you ready?

Kathe

Just say this little prayer.....

Is it really that easy? Just say this little prayer, called the sinner's prayer, and you get your ticket into eternity with God. Is that really all it takes? And once you say that little prayer and you have your ticket, can you live your life pretty much how you please without worrying about losing it? That is what I hear from most preachers today. It's called the OSAS or Once Saved Always Saved doctrine. Basically once you say that prayer and accept Jesus as your Savior, you are always saved and nothing can take that away from you.

My husband and I are reading through Revelation right now, doing a little bible study on our own. As we were reading this past week we came across some verses which caused us to pause and talk about the OSAS doctrine.

Revelation 2:25 - 28 (25) Nevertheless what you have, hold fast until I come. (26) He who overcomes and he who keeps My deeds until the end, to him I will give authority over the nations; (27) and he shall rule them with a rod of iron, as the vessels of the potter are broken to pieces, as I also have received authority from My Father; (28) and I will give him the morning star.

To be given all of these things a person needs to hold fast until Jesus comes. He needs to overcome and keep "MY" deeds. Since this is Jesus speaking, He is the "MY" here. He also says that this person who does these things will be given the morning star. If you look in the bible for references to the morning star (Revelation 22:16) you will find that the morning star is another name for Jesus Christ. So in order to have Christ, we must overcome and hold fast until He comes back for us. To me this says you need to do more than just say a simple prayer.

Revelation 3:5 states: He who overcomes will thus be clothed in white garments; and I will not erase his name from the book of life, and I will confess his name before My Father and before His angels.

OK........so if Jesus says He will not erase a name that must mean that some names are going to be erased. And if a name is erased doesn't that mean that in order to be truly saved and spend eternity with Jesus that you have to do more than just say a simple prayer?

I am reading James right now. I read it through last week and realized that there is so much amazing information in it that I decided to read it again, and again. Then I decided that I'm going to read it every day for at least a month. Every time I read it I get something else from it.

Some things are jumping out at me. In James 2 he talks about Faith and Works. James 2:17 states, Even so faith, if it has no works, is dead, being by itself. Will dead faith get you into eternity with the Father? I don't think so.

James goes on to talk about Abraham and how Abraham showed his great faith by his works when he believed God and did what he was told to do with his son Isaac. James 2:24 states, You see that a man is justified by works and not by faith alone. It seems pretty clear to me that to just say a simple sinners prayer is just not enough. There has to be something else.

The book of James is full of wisdom on how to live life according to God's will so that your deeds will be an outward showing of your faith. Faith is not a religious act of going to church and praying at the dinner table. Faith is living your life for Christ, not yourself.

Kathe

The Narrow Gate

Matthew 7:13 Enter through the narrow gate; for the gate is wide and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and there are many who enter through it. (14) For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

I've been thinking about this a lot lately. What does that mean? As I have stated before I believe the bible literally. That means if it says something I take it at face value unless something tells me otherwise. So when Jesus says that the gate is narrow I have to believe what He is telling me.

A narrow gate means to me that you can't be loaded down with a bunch of stuff and still get through the gate. It's pretty much you and the clothes on your back.
Stuff. We accumulate a lot of stuff going through this life, especially when you live in a western country like the USA. Stuff seems to be the central focus of our lives. Buying stuff, especially the latest stuff. Then once you buy stuff you have to take care of stuff. How much time do we spend just taking care of the stuff we have?

We moved into our home almost 14 years ago. We moved from a 2 bedroom apartment into a 4 bedroom, 2800 sq foot home with a 1/2 finished basement. When we moved into it we didn't have very much stuff. Now it seems that every nook and cranny is filled with stuff. Where did it all come from? Much of it came from having 6 children. We have our stuff and their stuff. We have stuff from every year they went to school. We have trophies and school papers, old sporting goods that might be passed onto a little brother or sister, and all kinds of stuff. We have Christmas cards from years past and reports from 4th grade. We have photo's and videos and tons of memories in boxes. We have a pool table that we can't play pool on because it has stuff stacked on it. Same for the ping pong table.

Stuff, stuff and more stuff. And now it's Christmas and we are out buying more stuff. More comes in and nothing goes out. How did it get this way? Neither myself or my husband grew up this way.

We have decided to get rid of stuff. It is going bye-bye. We have decided we want to live simpler with less stuff. We are finding new homes for lots of stuff or it's going in the trash. We started a few months ago and it seems we have hardly made a dent. We are determined though and will keep it up.

The point is that when you follow Jesus Christ it is more important to have Him than stuff. I don't need stuff, I need Him. The more stuff I get rid of, the more room I will have for Him.

I believe Him when He talks about the narrow gate. I can't expect to live my life for stuff and still get through the narrow gate. It's just not possible and eternity is much too long to get this wrong. I don't need the latest gadget, I need more time with Him and His word. I don't need to fill my house, my head or my time with stuff, I need to fill myself with Him.

How much stuff do you have? If something happened to you today would you fit through that narrow gate into eternity with Jesus Christ?

In my read through the bible I am currently in Ecclesiastes. King Solomon, who was the richest man in history, talks about stuff and how it is all vanity. It is for nothing. He says the only thing that matters is God. This is a man who had everything. Anything he wanted he had at the snap of his fingers. And all for nothing. It was just stuff.

Picture one of those old fashioned weight scales. The ones with 2 dishes that are supposed to balance when the 2 weights match. Put your stuff on one side and your relationship (time spent) with Jesus on the other side. Which one is the heaviest? Will you get through that narrow gate?

Kathe

Standing up for the little things

I had a conversation with my husband last night as we were walking through the mall about standing up for the little things. We had gone there to get a walk in after dinner as it is freezing cold outside.

One thing I am standing up for this year is Christmas. Now most of us know that Christ really wasn't born in December, more likely September, and most of us know that December 25th was originally a pagan holiday for the Romans and that Christians took it over in the name of Christ somewhere around the 3rd or 4th century, but from then on it was a Christian day to remember the day our Savior came to this earth for us. That is how we celebrate it in our family.

In recent years this celebration of the Saviors birth has evolved into something that doesn't even look like a distant relation. It is now a holiday celebration (what holiday I have no idea) and is all about buying and getting instead of remembering the greatest gift ever given. In case you don't know what that gift is it is the gift of eternal salvation. Christ gave up His amazing throne in heaven (we can't even imagine what that is like) to come to earth and live like a man. He was ridiculed, beaten, whipped and put on a cross to die like a common thief. Then, 3 days later, He rose from the grave and in doing all of this He gave us the choice to live eternally with Him instead of the Lake of Fire. Amazing.

And we have turned that gift into the most self-centered time of year possible. It's all about getting the latest gadget and how much am I getting and I didn't get what I wanted. Me, me, me! I guess we weren't happy with the original gift that was given???

Anyway, this year I am getting emails from different retailers wishing me happy holidays and to please come into their store and buy my holiday gifts. Well, instead of doing what they want I just send an email back and let them know that I celebrate the real reason for this time of year, Christmas, and that I will be doing my Christmas shopping at stores that feel the same way I do and that aren't so PC correct that they can't use the word Christmas. I tell them why there is a Christmas to begin with, Christ, and that is what I celebrate.

Most I don't hear back from. Some I do. Most I hear back from are very defensive and basically say they go with the majority. To that I say no, you are going with the very loud minority. Along with most others who don't care one way or the other, which is even more sad. (Jesus talks about this group in Revelation when He speaks of the lukewarm church that He spits out of His mouth).

I did get one back that thanked me because from my email he was convicted to start treating this season for what it really is and to stand stronger in those convictions rather than bend to being PC just to make more money. Yay!

So how about it. How about we all take the time to write a little note. Be nice about it, but state the truth. We can make a difference, one person at a time.

Next time I want to talk about how standing up for the little things lead to standing up for the big ones and how important that is going to be to you one of these days.

Through His Grace I am saved.

Kathe