I just discovered a wonderful audio Bible website. I’m getting a six-day late start, but I’m going to listen through the entire Bible in a year. I listened to day one on Wednesday evening. This podcast included most of Chapters 1 & 2 of Genesis, 1 & 2 of Matthew, Psalm 1, and part of Proverbs 1. I’m excited about the plan and look forward to following it all year. I should easily catch up those few days I’m behind within a week. Find it at Daily Audio Bible. The website also offers a kid’s version that takes children through the New Testament. Both groups have community forums, chat rooms, prayer forums, and more. I’m thrilled to have discovered this website.
2 Peter 3:10-11 The end of the world
But the day of the Lord will come like a thief. The heavens will disappear with a roar; the elements will be destroyed by fire, and the earth and everything in it will be laid bare.
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives. (2 Peter 3:10-11 NIV)
Have you heard the latest predictions? The world is coming to an end on December 21, 2012 – so some people think. Search Google and find out for yourself about some of these wild predictions. Does this put fear in your heart?
Our Bible passage was written almost 2000 years ago with a message that is quite similar, but the world seems to have dismissed this warning. Only a few have taken it seriously in recent years. But now with this new prophecy more people are tieing it together.
These doomsday predictors are missing one significant point. The day of destruction will come like a thief in the night. In Matthew 24:36 Jesus tells his disciples, “No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father.”
According to this passage contemporary prophecies like December 21, 2012 are wrong. How can any mortal man have more knowledge about the end of time than Jesus and all the angels in heaven?
The Bible tells us there will be rumors of this kind in the end times. So for that reason I believe the end times may be very near. We may see it in our own lifetimes. But we have no guarantee of three more years, it could come today or tomorrow or next week. Like Jesus said in Matthew 24:44, “So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.”
The other side of this issue is that the end of the world may not happen for another thousand years. Many have predicted a specific day for Christ’s return and the day came and went without incident. These people were prepared to go to eternity, but they weren’t prepared for tomorrow and the day after that. Our nation and world have become very unstable in many ways. We need to be paying attention and preparing ourselves to survive within our communities by working together and living in harmony with one another.
What would Jesus find in your heart and life if he came today? Are you focused on yourself or on the needs of others? 2 Peter 3:11-18 offers a plan of action for preparing for the last days. Become pure and blameless. Live at peace with God.
Make certain of your salvation. Your life in eternity is at stake. Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.. (Isaiah 55:6)
Are you ready? Jesus is eagerly waiting for you to seek his face.
Dear Father God, guard over our hearts and lives. Help us to seek you with all our hearts so we will be ready for you when you come. Guide our steps in the way you would have us to go so that we may spend eternity with you in heaven.
For more on the end of time, read both of these chapters in their entirety by following these links: 2 Peter 3, and Matthew 24.
© 2009 by Janice D. Green
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
Colossians 3:15 Be Thankful Always
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15 NIV)
Do you have days, sometimes weeks, months, even years, when you find it hard to be thankful? …times when life’s disappointments and burdens weigh you down and you find yourself dwelling and stewing over them? It seems unpatriotic or sacrilegious to mention such a thing now, one day before Thanksgiving, but for many it is reality. Thanksgiving and Christmas bring with them great expectations of family celebrations and traditions… and disappointment over unmet expectations.
I suggest Colossians 3:16 may offer some insight to how we can rise above these situations and cultivate a spirit of thankfulness. If we cultivate the peace of Christ in our hearts, and if we make it a matter of will to keep our eyes on Jesus, we will feel his presence lifting us up even in our disappointments. The Bible often mentions a “sacrifice of praise.” This happens when we praise God in spite of our disappointments, even daring to praise him for the things that cause us grief. In my own experience, it has been the hard times that brought me closer to God. What I would have missed if life had always gone my way – what a spoiled brat I would have become.
Make your Bible your favorite book. A good concordance may help you find scriptures to meet your particular needs for the day. The Psalms are a great place to go when your spirit needs a lift. Spend time in prayer, and sing praises to God. If you listen to Christian music, especially scripture and praise songs, you bring in the assistance of those recorded voices to lift your spirit. Be pro-active in your praise and sing with them. God isn’t concerned over how well you sing, but he loves the sound of your voice when it is praising him. If you feel like crying, then cry your heart out to God. Remember that the shortest verse in the Bible is “Jesus wept.” He cares about your grief. Keep the music playing until you have cried it through, and let the praise songs lift you up into his presence.
A song that brings out how God blesses us through our trials is entitled, Through it All. Click the link and listen to the version I found on YouTube by The Booth Brothers. I hope these words bless you like they do me.
Father God, help us to truly be thankful to you as we experience the Thanksgiving holiday this year. Bless the needy out of your bounty so they can see your face and feel your peace.
© 2009 by Janice D. Green
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 A Thankful Spirit
Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV)
I probably don’t have to tell any of my readers who live in the United States that Thursday is Thanksgiving. Every school kid knows that they get out of school for two or three days because it is Thanksgiving. And most kids probably were asked by one or more teachers to tell what they were thankful for during the last day in class before the Thanksgiving vacation days when school was closed.
When I was a school librarian I sometimes asked my students to tell or write about something they were thankful for. Some would mention their mother or father, family, or friends. Others might mention something that had been given to them. But Tommy and a few others couldn’t think of anything to be thankful for. Tommy didn’t wear name brand clothes and he probably didn’t make all As, but his clothing was nice and he wasn’t failing. I sensed that Tommy’s real problem was a spirit of discontentment. He wanted things some of his classmates had and felt cheated somehow because he couldn’t have them.
How many of us are like Tommy? We watch commercials on TV and see things we want. We become jealous of our friends’ nice clothes or their fancy cell phones.
When I was in high school my family camped beside a lake two summers while my father went to college in a different state than were we lived. The first summer we camped for 11 weeks and enjoyed fishing and swimming every day we were there. Before the second summer we purchased a boat. My brother also bought a SCUBA tank. You would have thought the second summer would have been fantastic. But money was tight and we could only buy a little gasoline for the boat. We also couldn’t afford to fill the SCUBA tank as often as we wanted. So the rest of the time we had to settle for doing the same things we had done the summer before. And even though those things were wonderful the first summer, they weren’t good enough any more. Seven weeks into the summer we packed up our tent and our boat and went back home for the rest of the summer.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 says we should give thanks in all circumstances. Not only when we have all of our wants met. If we are willing to thank God for everything, for the air we breathe, for our health, for a soft place to sleep and a blanket to cover us, for clothing to keep us warm, for someone to love us, we will have discovered the secret of real joy.
If we let jealousy and discontentment get in the way of being thankful for the blessings we have, we lose our joy. But if we are willing to look on the bright side, to see the many blessings that are ours and we take the time to thank God for them, we will learn the secret of true happiness.
Thank God for your blessings. If you still can’t think of any blessings, go to Google and do a search for something like world hunger or aids orphans. Then think again about the blessings you have and thank God for being so good to you.
Father God, enable our hearts to be thankful in everything. Help us to willing to care more about others’ needs than about our wants.
Copyright © 2009 by Janice Green
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
John 14:6 Don’t be fooled
Read John 14 (Click on the link to read it in NIV or select your prefered version when the window opens.)
Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (John 14:6)
You hear it a lot today… “I’m a good person. I don’t need the church or all that Bible stuff. I’ve tried to live a good life like Jesus said we should. I’m not worried about the afterlife because I believe God will be okay with how I’ve lived my life.”
Others will ask, “How can God punish these ‘good’ people?”
I don’t believe God wants to punish people as much as people want to imply. That isn’t the problem at all. The problem is that God didn’t create a perfect and glorious place like heaven for people who don’t want him.
At the beginning of time God created the heavens and the earth. He brought mankind onto this earth, and he gave them the choice to accept or reject his commandments. Just as Adam and Eve rejected his first and only commandment in the Garden of Eden, man has continued to reject his commandments unto this day.
God gives us the opportunity to accept his forgiveness for our sins through the blood of Jesus Christ. It was no small sacrifice for Jesus to endure the crucifixion and death on a cross to pay for our sins. The choice is ours. Do we want God or don’t we? If we choose Jesus we choose God. If we don’t choose Jesus we are saying we don’t want his Father, the God of all creation.
Those who don’t want God, have no right to expect him to open heaven’s doors to them when their time comes. By choosing not to follow God’s commandments people have messed up the earth already. The problems of humankind’s sins are escalating before our very eyes. Why should we expect God to allow this to happen to his glorious heaven as well?
So what about the punishment of hell? Do people who have tried to be good in their own strength but didn’t choose to accept Jesus have to be punished the same way as terrible criminals do? I won’t attempt to give an absolute answer here, only food for thought. If all the people who accepted Jesus go to heaven to be with God, Jesus, and all the heavenly angels; and only those who chose not to accept Jesus are left outside to fend for themselves with Satan and all his demons who are eager to offer their brand of spiritual help, what is it going to be like?
The final word will be one of two: You wanted him and accepted him. {Or} You didn’t want him – you rejected him.
Father God, I pray for those who don’t understand, for those who are so willing to let themselves be fooled into believing their only measuring stick for entering heaven is how they measure up to the persons around them. Wake us all from our slumber and give us eyes to see who you really are. Show us your compassion.
Read the entire passage of John 14. It is so powerful.
© 2009 by Janice D. Green
Scripture quoted by permission. Quotations designated (NIV) are from THE HOLY BIBLE: NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved.
