Whew, another countdown and Y2K still hasn't hit... All you Windows Users can breathe easy for another year or so - or until the next time you click on a link from an email you never signed up for...
But seriously folks, I was just thinking back on all of the things we all saw and heard over the last year. And most people say, "try to think about the good and not the bad" and though I'm not some sort of fatalist-type of person, I cannot help but remember the bad things that happened because we were commanded to watch for the signs of the coming of the End of the Age.
And at this point, I could talk about the sectarian violence in the Middle East, the Government corruption at every level, the hypocrisy in the "Christian" religion from TV Preachers being investigated by Congress to False Gospels being spread by some of the most popular personalities in radio and television...
But I don't want to, believe it or not, I'd prefer for this to be one of the shorter posts I've written. The reason being, because as we enter into this new year, we face both types of news all over again! Good AND Bad...
And you know what most people will say once again, "Okay, give me the bad news first..." Sure thing, I'd be glad to...
First off, there is going to be more violence, wars, false Messiahs, etc; perhaps more hurricanes, maybe even a tsunami here in America on one of our fine coastal regions... Jesus said that there would be weather phenomena occurring "in diverse places" [everywhere] in the End Times - so the true Believer is not surprised when 16 tornadoes pop up in Wisconsin in January... I'm just a weather Observer, not a Forecaster - just a Sower and a Witness of God's Word, not a Prophet...
When I mention violence, again, I am not surprised when a person takes up a weapon to kill Christians, whether they are wearing a turban on their head, or they were simply sent out from the flock because of their on-going sin. Either way, Jesus was referring to them in that same chapter in the Gospel of Matthew. (24)
Witnessing all of these occurrences does not give us a date for Christ's return, they simply remind us that our time here on Earth is short, and that He is coming again in glory to judge the living and the dead. Acts 10:42 (ESV)
And that's the bad news for all of mankind... God is going to have His Day of Judgment... We are going to be held to account for every sin we've ever committed against Him when we've broken His Laws, His Commandments...
Every time we've told a lie, every time we've stolen, every time we've used His Holy Name in a way that was anything less than honorable, giving Him the respect that He so rightly deserves as the One who gave us life and every good thing that we have...
If we are honest with ourselves, and the Book of Ecclesiastes is accurate, we must admit that none of us is "good" for the very reasons listed above, and that we've all sinned and fallen short of the glory of God as the Book of Romans declares.
The bad news is that we all deserve God's wrath and judgment in Hell's lake of fire. We are adulterers, fornicators, murderers at heart, lying, blaspheming, disobedient thieves.
And it's only when we consider that God does indeed love us and showed us His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, He sent Christ to die for us... that we can see a glimpse of the sacrifice that He made for us on the Cross, when He was "bruised for our iniquities [lawlessness]" and He gave His life that we might live.
That's when the "Good News" is made truly "Good" God has provided a way for us to be forgiven of those sins that we've committed against Him. He has made a way for us to be reconciled to Him through His Son, whom He sent to save us from our sins, and from His wrath...
And He commands all men everywhere to repent and believe on His Son, Jesus Christ. The Apostle Paul tells us to "put on the Lord Jesus Christ." Romans 13:14 (ESV) If you were standing in the doorway of a plane, you wouldn't simply "believe in" the parachute you were handed - in order for your life to be saved from the jump to come, you would have to "put it on." And that's what it is to "trust" and to "have faith in" Christ. For we are saved by grace through faith in Christ... Ephesians 2:8,9 (ESV)
For those who have repented of their sins, turned away from their old life, and submitted to God's Will using His Word as their guide - He promises to bring them from darkness into the light, (1 Peter 2:9) from death into life, (John 5:24) that He will give them a new heart with new desires (Ezekiel 36:26) they will begin to hate the things that God hates (sin) and love the things God loves (righteousness).
As promised, the Good News and the Bad News... Jesus said that no one may enter heaven unless they are born again of water and the spirit. When you were born the first time, it was a radical experience - you went from breathing liquid to breathing air, from a warm and cozy, protected home to a cold and cruel world where you were vulnerable to disease and sin through temptation...
Think about these things as you go through your new year, and know that if you die without Christ this year or any other, without your sins being paid for by the sacrifice Christ made on the Cross, you will go to Hell for all of eternity - you have God's promise on that... Revelation 21:8
If you have repented and put your faith in Christ, I want to encourage you to check out a couple of spots online that you might find edifying to your walk as a Christian:
Answers in Genesis - StudyLight.org
Firefighters.org - The School of Biblical Evangelism
-Benjamin, The Sower
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