Set In Order

“Then the kingdom of Heaven shall be likened to ten virgins who took their lamps and went out to meet the bridegroom.  And five of them were wise, and five foolish.  Those who were foolish took their lamps and took no oil with them,  but the wise took oil in their vessels with their lamps.  But while the bridegroom was delayed, they all nodded and fell asleep.  And at midnight there was a cry: Behold, the bridegroom is coming; go out to meet him!  Then all those virgins arose and prepared their lamps.  And the foolish said to the wise, Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.  But the wise answered, saying, No, lest there should not be enough for us and you; but go rather to those who sell, and buy for yourselves.  And while they went to buy, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went in with him to the wedding feast; and the door was shut.  Afterward the other virgins came also, saying, Lord, Lord, open to us!  But he answered and said, Truly, I say to you, I do not know you.  Watch therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour in which the Son of Man comes.”  Matthew 25:1-13   When king Hezekiah was going to die, the prophet Isaiah told him to set his house in order.   “In those days Hezekiah had become sick unto death. And Isaiah the prophet, the son of Amoz, came to him and said to him, Thus says Jehovah: Set your house in order, for you are dying,...

Uncertainty

“If we receive the testimony of men, the testimony of God is greater; for this is the testimony of God which He has witnessed about His Son.  He who believes in the Son of God has the testimony in himself; he who does not believe God has made Him a liar, because he has not believed the testimony that God has given concerning His Son.  And this is the testimony: that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son.  He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.  These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, that you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may continue to believe in the name of the Son of God.”  1st John 5:9-13   Certainly there is a certain amount of prudence in keeping up with the news.  For myself there is a limit, as there is no end to the amount of information that is readily available in print and online (Ecc. 12:12).  One thing seemingly prevails from time to time and that is the amount of uncertainty regarding events that are taking place in the United States and throughout the entire world.  Quite simply, these words often come to mind.   “And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.  For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And...

In A Moment

“The harvest is past, the summer is ended, and we are not saved.”  Jeremiah 8:20   Driving home from the sleepy town of Bigfork, Montana the other night, my family and I were listening to a CD.  Suddenly the CD went silent then resumed.  Ahead the should be yellow flashing caution traffic light had went out, the CD went silent again, once again resuming.  As we turned on the highway heading towards Kalispell, I looked just to make sure the glow of lights from Kalispell was still apparent in the distance, presumably the CD probably has a scratch or a fingerprint on it.    Heading down the highway I began to contemplate the reality of the world we live in.  The uncertainty of a normal tomorrow, the unknown lying ahead.  As a Christian, I know that if the Rapture occurs I will meet Lord in the air, along with my wife and son.  Yet the troublesome times that we live in often has my thoughts comprehending the possibility of disaster striking the United States before that awesome Day.   “But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who are asleep, that you sorrow not 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 by no means precede those who are asleep.  For the Lord Himself will descend from Heaven with...

Warn Them!

“I tell you, no; but unless you repent you will all likewise perish.”  Luke 13:3   I want to take a moment to stress the importance of Biblical Salvation, which all Believers know.  Biblical salvation is repentance and by faith believing into Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.  So true Believers, true Christians, those who have repented and believed into Jesus have their names written in the Book of Life (Rev. 20:15).   We know that Christ died for all.   “For the love of Christ holds us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto Him who died for them and rose again.”  1st Corinthians 5:14-15   We know that God wishes that none would perish.   “The Lord is not slow concerning His promise, as some count slowness, but is longsuffering toward us, not purposing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.”  2nd Peter 3:9   “Do I delight with pleasure in the death of the wicked? says the Lord Jehovah, and not that he should turn back from his ways and live?”  Ezekiel 18:23   Consider Christ, He gave His life so that we may have life in Him.   “In this the love of God was revealed in us, that God 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...

Sell Your Possessions

“And behold, one came and said to Him, Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?  So He said to him, Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.  He said to Him, Which? Jesus said, You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness,  Honor your father and your mother, and, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  The young man said to Him, All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?  Jesus said to him, If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in Heaven; and come, follow Me.  But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had many possessions.”  Matthew 19:16-22   What can we say that we have done for Christ?   What have we given up for the sake of whom who died on the Cross for our sins, who rose again from the dead, who sits at the right hand of God, the Son of God, Jesus, who is the author and finisher of our Salvation?   “Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so persistently harasses us, and let us run with perseverance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of...

Don’t Wait

“He who is unjust, let him be unjust still; he who is filthy, let him be filthy still; he who is righteous, let him be righteous still; he who is holy, let him be holy still.”  Revelation 22:11   The recent false missile alert in Hawaii certainly delivered fear to those who are living there.  All over and for good reason, people were panicking, crying, screaming, trying to figure out what to do.  After all what can one do?   From what I have heard, the traffic in Honolulu is terrible.  Imagine being stuck in traffic, getting an alert that there is an incoming ballistic missile and there is no where to go.  You are literally at ground zero, stuck.  Fortunately I haven’t heard any reports of injuries or deaths regarding this false alert.  From my understanding there were some who were driving very erratically, trying to get home to there loved ones, disregarding all traffic laws.   There is also a video of a family lowering their children in the sewer drain, as a place for them to go.  Truly that is an interesting take on a bomb shelter, one that would make one ponder if it would actually be effective or not.  There is also a popular video out there showing university students running to take cover.  Of course there are numerous more videos of people’s last words, even one man who just continued to play golf.   However, one reaction, one article truly got my attention.  A woman in the midst of the chaos prayed to God and asked for forgiveness of her sins, as well...