Hello everyone and welcome back to another look at "What The Lord Said" in His Word concerning His return.
Now the Lord tells us next what the days will be like before He returns to judge the living and the dead. Those days that make us long to see His coming again. He instructs us by comparing those days with the days of three people; Noah, Lot, and Lot's wife. First, for our time today, the Lord spoke of the days of Noah.
THE DAYS OF NOAH AND THE DAYS OF THE SON OF MAN.
As it came to pass in the days of Noah, so shall it be also in the days of the Son of man. What was it like in the days of Noah? Moses said, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually." And then, "The earth also was corrupt before God, and the earth was filled with violence."
Peter says Noah was a preacher of righteousness and it is evident as we look at the scriptures that no one paid any attention to his warnings, much like today many times. These words give us some insight as to the spiritual conditions of the people in the days of Noah. What were they like? For one thing they were violent.
1. Violence is one of the characteristics of people just before Christ returns. Remember, these people did not have any atomic bombs. They had no gunpowder or any of our modern day methods of killing each other yet they were so violent, even in their thoughts, that God brought the flood on the world of the ungodly.
Evidently the laws we make regarding the sale of guns are a moot question. If we took all of the bombs and other weapons we have and threw them in the ocean, that would not stop wars between people, individuals, or family members. Men would still go to war and fight if they had to use sticks and rocks, or simply words and actions (or lack of actions). Is there any serious question in anyone's mind that we live in perilous times?
Martin Luther thought they had perilous times in 1522. He said in one sermon he preached in that year that the end must come soon because they had invented gunpowder and the printing press. Luther thought the world was so hi-tech that they had gone about as far as they could go. How much more is our potential for violence today? As it was in the days of Noah so shall it be in the days of the Son of man.
Until next time...
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
"WHAT JESUS SAID ABOUT THE SECOND COMING"
Hello everyone. I have been away for a while and should be able to continue now with more devotions for your thoughts and study. God Bless as you read and take God at His Word. Today's thought s are focused around what The Son of God Himself said about the time when He returns.
And he said unto the disciples, "The days would come, when ye shall
desire to see one of the days of the Son of man, and ye shall not see
it."
Those days will come when we shall wish for the Lord's return. And they
shall say to you, "Lo here! Lo there! Follow not after them: for as the
lightning, when it lightens out of one part of the heaven, shines
unto the other part under heaven, so shall the Son of man be in His day."
When we see the lighting there is always a clap of thunder that
follows. Peter says, "The day of the Lord will come as a thief and the
heavens will pass away with a great noise." The great noise must be the
sound of celestial thunder that will attend the Lord's lightning fast
return. He further states that we are to look for and earnestly desire
the coming of the day of God...
So when things look bad in the world because of violence, drugs,
wars, the economy, and disease, it is only natural for the Christian to desire the
coming of the day of the Son of man. Our prayer should be at all times: "O
Lord, Let the melt down begin, let the sun be turned into darkness, let the
moon be turned into blood. Let the heavens be removed as a scroll when it is
rolled up and let the stars fall from heaven as a fig tree casteth her
unripe figs when she is shaken by a great wind. Let the Lord descend,
let the shout be heard, let the voice of the archangel be uttered, let the
trumpet sound, let the dead in Christ be raised up, let us who remain
be caught up, let us meet the Lord in the air in our resurrected,
glorified bodies, and let death be swallowed up in victory. O Lord, let'er rip."
This, many times is our prayer, this is our desire, and this is our wish, in Jesus name.
Amen.
However when Jesus told the Apostles of His return; He said, "But first
He must suffer many things and be rejected of this generation." He was
rejected then and He is rejected now.
As you consider the return of our Lord Jesus Christ, are you ready? If you believe not the things written in The Book considering this Jesus, heaven is not your home if you were to pass from this life. I want to urge you to listen to HIM as HE has spoken, and do His Will. I will pick this devotion up from this point next time. God Bless until we meet again.
Monday, December 15, 2008
"THE CHURCH CHARACTERIZED" #4
Good day everyone and welcome back. We continue with our study on The Church as it is seen in The Holy Scriptures. I appreciate the comments that some are sending and hope this devotional site will continue to be of help and encouragement to many. So let's begin.
IV. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST USES THE WORD OF GOD AS THE ONLY RULE OF DISCIPLINE.
We have in our world today far too many religious organizations doing their own thing in the name of God or a god. There are even "good intentions" as these folks continue on in their endeavors. Humanitarian efforts are achieved as they may feed the hungry, clothe those in need of warmth, and even save some from disasters that come in life. These are no doubt good as they help people and encourage them to live on and even turn and help others along the way. There is a problem, however, in the end. The problem is we all die and after death we are going to be judged, whether we believe it or not. This judgment is not in accordance with any man-made laws or ideas. The judgment will be directly related to what God Himself has spoken to us in His Word. We cannot change it or revise it no matter how many votes we cast or count. Some groups have even gone so far as to accept certain parts of God's Word and discount the parts THEY deem not true or relevant. This does no one any good in the end. The Bible, God's written Word, was given to us as God wanted it. We have no business making any changes whatsoever to fit a group or religious organization.
The Bible says in 2 Tim. 3:16-17, "All Scriptures is inspired by God and profitable, for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." All THE Church needs is the Bible, but the church needs the entire Bible to direct her. If a church uses any other book than the Bible or uses any book as being equal to the Bible, that church is not the Church that Christ intended. Revelation 22:19 says, "and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (RSV) Let the Bible speak for itself and listen to no man or group who wants to change it.
V. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IMMERSES ONLY.
We now come to one of the most controversial subjects in religious conversations today. The subject is that of "baptism". Over the years and centuries the term baptism has gone through some definite changes. These changes have not been in accordance with the original language God placed in His Word. Every Bible study must begin and end by looking at the original language and the context within. The term baptism in the original Greek means only one thing, to immerse. Over the years man has accepted the change of this term to mean one of three things. It has been accepted as sprinkling or pouring or immersion. Again, this does no one any good in the end. God had, or has, a purpose for everything He placed in His Word and to change it for our convenience is not beneficial for our salvation. God has statutes or laws we must follow and not change because WE FEEL it is a different time and culture. Baptism means to immerse, dip, plunge or bury. Many references in scripture show this as being true.
The Bible says in Rom. 6:4, " . . . we are buried with Him through baptism. . . " The Bible says in Col. 2:12, "having been buried with Him in baptism, . . ." To bury an object is to cover up that object. Bible baptism is immersion in water, not sprinkling or pouring water upon the person. Read the book of Acts and see for yourself how God, through His Apostles' preaching, made this a most relevant part of His Church. It is at the point of Baptism, after a person truly repents and confesses Christ as God's Son, that sin is forgiven by God and God Himself, by way of His Holy Spirit, comes to live in us. (Acts 2:38) To deny what The Word says is to deny what God has spoken as being true.
May God bless as you read and study and may HE be praised. Until next time...Mark
IV. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST USES THE WORD OF GOD AS THE ONLY RULE OF DISCIPLINE.
We have in our world today far too many religious organizations doing their own thing in the name of God or a god. There are even "good intentions" as these folks continue on in their endeavors. Humanitarian efforts are achieved as they may feed the hungry, clothe those in need of warmth, and even save some from disasters that come in life. These are no doubt good as they help people and encourage them to live on and even turn and help others along the way. There is a problem, however, in the end. The problem is we all die and after death we are going to be judged, whether we believe it or not. This judgment is not in accordance with any man-made laws or ideas. The judgment will be directly related to what God Himself has spoken to us in His Word. We cannot change it or revise it no matter how many votes we cast or count. Some groups have even gone so far as to accept certain parts of God's Word and discount the parts THEY deem not true or relevant. This does no one any good in the end. The Bible, God's written Word, was given to us as God wanted it. We have no business making any changes whatsoever to fit a group or religious organization.
The Bible says in 2 Tim. 3:16-17, "All Scriptures is inspired by God and profitable, for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work." All THE Church needs is the Bible, but the church needs the entire Bible to direct her. If a church uses any other book than the Bible or uses any book as being equal to the Bible, that church is not the Church that Christ intended. Revelation 22:19 says, "and if any one takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God will take away his share in the tree of life and in the holy city, which are described in this book. (RSV) Let the Bible speak for itself and listen to no man or group who wants to change it.
V. THE CHURCH OF CHRIST IMMERSES ONLY.
We now come to one of the most controversial subjects in religious conversations today. The subject is that of "baptism". Over the years and centuries the term baptism has gone through some definite changes. These changes have not been in accordance with the original language God placed in His Word. Every Bible study must begin and end by looking at the original language and the context within. The term baptism in the original Greek means only one thing, to immerse. Over the years man has accepted the change of this term to mean one of three things. It has been accepted as sprinkling or pouring or immersion. Again, this does no one any good in the end. God had, or has, a purpose for everything He placed in His Word and to change it for our convenience is not beneficial for our salvation. God has statutes or laws we must follow and not change because WE FEEL it is a different time and culture. Baptism means to immerse, dip, plunge or bury. Many references in scripture show this as being true.
The Bible says in Rom. 6:4, " . . . we are buried with Him through baptism. . . " The Bible says in Col. 2:12, "having been buried with Him in baptism, . . ." To bury an object is to cover up that object. Bible baptism is immersion in water, not sprinkling or pouring water upon the person. Read the book of Acts and see for yourself how God, through His Apostles' preaching, made this a most relevant part of His Church. It is at the point of Baptism, after a person truly repents and confesses Christ as God's Son, that sin is forgiven by God and God Himself, by way of His Holy Spirit, comes to live in us. (Acts 2:38) To deny what The Word says is to deny what God has spoken as being true.
May God bless as you read and study and may HE be praised. Until next time...Mark
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