★ Thought for the Day – True Shalom ★

Posted on April 6, 2020 by Daily Dependence

This week is quite significant for many reasons. Yesterday was Palm Sunday that is the official kick-off to “Holy Week.” Which you may recall was when Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem. Growing up I always liked this weekend because Palm branches would be handed out at church which we then made a cross with it to keep around the house. At the time I did not understand the significance of the tradition nor how important Holy Week is. Friday is of course the day when we remember the ultimate sacrifice that Jesus paid for our sins when He was nailed to the cross. And smack dab in the middle of the week between Jesus entering Jerusalem and subsequent death on a Roman cross, is the Jewish celebration of Passover is on Wednesday which is the remembrance of when the Israelite people were spared when the angel of death “passed over” their homes in Egypt because they put the blood of a scarified lamb over the doorway. Besides the religious significance, this week according to the Surgeon General “is going to be our Pearl Harbor moment.” As I turned on the TV this morning, news report after news report warns that the USA is facing the worst week of the Covid-19 outbreak. As we have been “social distancing,” (which I have to say I cannot stand hearing that phrase, I prefer “physical distancing” but I digress), the most repeated thing that I have asked, or have been asked, is “how are doing in quarantine?” So, I will tell you, I am doing good. Like so many, it has been (3) weeks now that we have self-quarantined. In these difficult and confusing times, it’s been comforting to be with my wife and (2) daughters, facing this together. Each of us have been “finding our new normal.” I have commandeered the dining room as my work space, while our daughters have each found their own place to attend classes online. One blessing of being quarantined with my family is enjoying having lunch together and then 3 pm coffee time with my wife. I think the most interesting change is that I am now the one hitting Costco, Kroger or Walmart just trying to find the essentials. As I got ready yesterday and folded up my bandanna with some of my wife’s hair ties to create a makeshift mask, I felt a little like this guy…

Hahaha! And I am happy to report that yesterday I hit “pay dirt!”

The media has created such a frenzy with non-stop coverage of empty shelves, the number of infected and sadly the death toll. There is without a doubt a reason to be concerned and take precautions, but we need to not allow our lives to be driven by fear! I was reading this YouVersion Easter reading plan called ‘Risen’ by Ray Johnston, and he had this great insight:

“Fear is the darkroom where negatives develop.”

Fear will cause us to act irrationally like hording toilet paper and can open the door to the enemy’s attack. After I came home yesterday from Winco with my precious paper products, mind you I have not had paper towels in 3 weeks…talk about first world problems…I then gathered with my family to stream the church service. And the ironic part, the sermon was called “Overcoming Fear” by Jimmy Evans. This timely message was all about God wanting us to have peace, not fear! He shared that:

“Fear is a prophet spirit from hell, sent to give us a negative report about the future that will upset us and cause us to make a fear-based decision that God will not honor.”

That is so, so powerful! How many fear-based decisions are being made right now? The enemy loves to use fear as a weapon against us but 2 Timothy 1:7 (NLT) tells us:

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear and timidity, but of power, love, and self-discipline.”

Jimmy Evans also said that:

“God never uses fear! He uses peace!”

That got me thinking about the Jewish celebration of Passover this week and the word that they use for peace… “Shalom,” which as you may have guessed, is the inspiration of this post. I asked a friend of mine who has a lot of knowledge about Judaism what is a trusted definition of the word Shalom and he said:

“The basic definition is peace for sure. But that peace, is a peace that goes beyond just peace with others, but peace with self, circumstances, emotions, etc. More like the peace of a new born babe in his/her mother’s arms. Like that. Where things may be happening but finding that security in God.”

What a powerful image right? We can find peace in God like a baby has in its mother’s arms.

This past February, my wife and I went to the XO Marriage Conference and heard Dave and Ashley Willis talk about “Finding Peace in Marriage Conflicts.” They shared this great definition for Shalom:

“Breaking the authority established by chaos.”

That is what I believe many of us need to do! We need to break the authority that we have allowed chaos to have over our lives. Satan is the author of confusion and it is only when we take captive our thoughts that we can have True Shalom. 1 Corinthians 14:33a (NLT) reminds us…

“For God is not a God of disorder but of peace.” (“of Shalom” – see the Tree of Life Translation).

I just reading John chapter 14 in which Jesus comforted His Disciples about the end times. He book-ended the chapter with an offer of peace. John 14:1 (NLT) start off:

““Don’t let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God, and trust also in me.””

I love the comfort found in John 14:1. This image reminded me of my many times in detention back in High School where the Dean had me write over and over “I will not _____ .” (Fill in the blank with whatever my offense was that day). Hahaha! I hated this punishment, but you know there is something about repetition that helps us learn the lesson. The same is true for our Life…Jesus gave us the key to ANY situation…“Trust in God, and trust also in [Him].” There is no better cure for anxiety than praying to the ONE who can comfort, heal and provide for us!

He meant this so much that at the end of the chapter, Jesus made this statement:

“I am leaving you with a gift — peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” John 14:27

So the question is, do you want to trust in the nightly news or the ONE who created you? The ONE who is your true provider! Jesus will provide much more than what your physical needs are, He with give you “peace of mind and heart!” All you need to do is ask Him for it today.

Pray…Stay Safe in Quarantine…and of course wash your hands!

★★ Want to dig deeper? ★★

Here are a couple of articles about the Meaning of Shalom:

Check out this sermon called “I’m Still Scared” by Steven Furtick.

Here are additional posts on fear, doubt, and anxiety that I wrote over the past (6) years if you are interested in reading more on this topic…

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★ Thought for the Day – What is Your Download Speed? ★

Posted on October 12, 2019 by Daily Dependence

Do you know what this is?

If you are old enough to recognize this, here is a trip down memory lane so that you can listen what internet connectivity sounded like back in 1990-something! Click this link to Hear

For those who have never experienced the dial-up connection speed of the classic 56k modem, it would sometimes take 5-10 minutes to connect to the World Wide Web and many times it would fail, making you start the process all over again. Those were dark days for browsing the internet and sending/receiving emails! Hahaha! What a different world we live in today as we now walk around with supercomputers in the palm of our hand, and if it takes 5 seconds to load a web page, or if an email does not send immediately it feels like forever! Today the “FCC has defined broadband, or fast internet, as internet with download speeds of at least 25 Mbps and upload speeds of at least 3 Mbps since 2015.” Many people geek out on download speeds but did you know that there was an Old Testament character who had a download speed that crushed 25 Mbps.

Today’s Thought was inspired from a passage that is not widely preached or read…2 Kings 6:24-30 (NLT) which says:

“Some time later, however, King Ben-hadad of Aram mustered his entire army and besieged Samaria. As a result, there was a great famine in the city. The siege lasted so long that a donkey’s head sold for eighty pieces of silver, and a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver.

Forgive the introduction but can you say EWWWWWW… “a cup of dove’s dung sold for five pieces of silver!!!” That must have been one long siege that not only was it worth so much, but that the people were actually so hungry that they ate dove’s feces!!! Yuck! Okay, back to the passage…

“One day as the king of Israel (Jehoram) was walking along the wall of the city, a woman called to him, “Please help me, my lord the king!”

He answered, “If the Lord doesn’t help you, what can I do? I have neither food from the threshing floor nor wine from the press to give you.” But then the king asked, “What is the matter?”

She replied, “This woman said to me: ‘Come on, let’s eat your son today, then we will eat my son tomorrow.’ So we cooked my son and ate him. Then the next day I said to her, ‘Kill your son so we can eat him,’ but she has hidden her son.”

When the king heard this, he tore his clothes in despair. And as the king walked along the wall, the people could see that he was wearing burlap under his robe next to his skin.”

2 Kings 6:24-30 is one of the most disturbing passages ever! I cannot believe that the two women even discussed the idea of killing their children, and then worse yet eating them! But if that’s not sick enough, the fact that one of the women did kill her son with and eat him with the other woman is absolutely unbelievable!!! I believe if I were in that situation, I would sacrifice myself first! Disturbing!!!! I looked up this passage in a commentary and they pointed out that God warned Israel that this curse would come upon the Israelites if they rejected the covenant they made with Him, I don’t have time to unpack this, but check out Deuteronomy 28:52-53 for the context. But what I wanted to point was what King Jehoram said in 2 Kings 6:31:

“May God strike me and even kill me if I don’t separate Elisha’s head from his shoulders this very day,” the king vowed.”

God promised back in Deuteronomy that a curse was coming if the people disobeyed Him but instead of blaming God, King Jehoram decided to take it out on the Prophet Elisha that the siege happened and was ready to kill him! It was 2 Kings 6:32-33 (NLT) that blew me away when I read it the other morning!

“Elisha was sitting in his house with the elders of Israel when the king (Jehoram) sent a messenger to summon him. But before the messenger arrived, Elisha said to the elders,

“A murderer (the King of Israel) has sent a man to cut off my head. When he arrives, shut the door and keep him out. We will soon hear his master’s steps following him.”

While Elisha was still saying this, the messenger arrived. And the king said, “All this misery is from the Lord! Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?””

Did you catch it?? Elisha got an instant download from God that danger was approaching! How amazing is that? The Prophet Elisha was so connected to God that he received an immediate alert that danger was coming for him. In the post, ★ Thought for the Day – The Holy Spirit is Our Spider Sense ★, we looked at how the Holy Spirit is our “early warning system” about the activities of the enemy, similar to how Spiderman, The Holy Spirit is “Our Spider Sense.” Just like Elisha, when we have a connection to the Holy Spirit, we will have his protection. Long before Elisha, God revealed in Job 33:14-18 (NLT) that:

“For God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it. He speaks in dreams, in visions of the night, when deep sleep falls on people as they lie in their beds. He whispers in their ears and terrifies them with warnings. He makes them turn from doing wrong; he keeps them from pride. He protects them from the grave, from crossing over the river of death.”

God is always speaking to us; the question is are we listening? Just like God had promised Israel that He would bless them if they would obey, the same is true for us. In Joel 2:12-13 (NLT), the prophet gave A Call to Repentance…

“That is why the Lord says, “Turn to me now, while there is time. Give me your hearts. Come with fasting, weeping, and mourning. Don’t tear your clothing in your grief, but tear your hearts instead.” Return to the Lord your God, for he is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love. He is eager to relent and not punish.”

And just a few verses late in Joel 2:28 (NLT), the Lord made this promised:

“Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.”

The amazing thing is that throughout history, God has been speaking to us, calling us back to Himself, desiring a relationship with you and I! You may be saying to yourself, these passages are all from the Old Testament well I am glad you asked. In Acts 2:17 (NLT), as Peter was addressing the people on the Day of Pentecost, he quoted Joel 2:28!

“‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.”

I truly believe that we are living in the last days and that God is pouring out His Spirit for all who will seek Him… Today, you have the choice, will you open the book and find out for yourself!

I love the Bible and all that it offers…HOPE, LOVE and the PROMISE that God will never leave us or forsake us, as well as the truth of Romans 10:13 (NLT)…

“For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.””

The choice is yours!

Want to dig deeper? If you are interested to read more on this topic check out these posts called:

★ Thought for the Day – The End is Near…? ★

★ Thought for the Day – Annihilating Anxiety ★

And if that is not enough here is a 3-part series about breaking through in your walk, through Prayer, the Word and Worship

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #1 – Opening the Pipeline ★

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #2 – What Are You Feeding On? ★

★ “Back to the Basics” – Pursuit #3 – Adoration That Matters ★

Continue reading →

★ Thought for the Day – Fair-Weather Faith ★

Posted on April 29, 2017 by Daily Dependence

I hope you have been enjoying our Temptation Series and though I had planned to be writing about “Avoiding the Consequences of Gluttony,” the Lord redirected me to write about today’s topic. I have never heard of the expression of “Fair Weather Faith,” but the title came to me in perfect clarity. I have heard of Fair-Weather Friends and Fair-Weather Fans. Merriam Webster Dictionary defines “fair-weather” as being:

“loyal or helpful only during times of success and happiness.”

We all have had people in our lives that seemed like they would be there through thick and thin but only to disappear once you needed them the most. Proverbs 17:17 (ESV) describes the type of friends we believed those people to have been:

“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity.”

In the post ★ Thought for the Day – Community That Matters ★ we talked a lot about the importance of fostering Biblical Community through “Fight Clubs” and how true friends are developed as a result. If you missed it, I highly recommended catching up.

As for the second “Fair-Weather” term’…In 2010 the Texas Rangers broke an 11 year playoff drought when they made it to the coveted series; it was amazing how all of a sudden there was a huge outpouring of fandom with the ‘claw’ and ‘antlers,’ along with Josh Hamilton jerseys that popped up everywhere you looked. To me, it was the truest example of Fair-Weather Fans because before that season I lived in Texas for 3 years with virtually no mention of the Arlington based team. Based on those two examples you could see where this post will be going. When I googled “Fair-Weather Faith” I discovered that there is a song with the exact title from the rock band Extreme and then I also this comic that really makes the point perfectly!

“Fair-Weather Faith” exists only during times of success and happiness. People with this milquetoast approach to faith will serve God when life is good, but once times get tough, it dissipates as quickly as the morning dew. In the Parable of the Sower, Jesus warned about those who had faith like this (see Luke 8:4-15).

We also get some insight from the Revelation 3:15-16 (NLT) in which Jesus said this in The Message to the Church in Laodicea:

“I know all the things you do, that you are neither hot nor cold. I wish that you were one or the other! But since you are like lukewarm water, neither hot nor cold, I will spit you out of my mouth!”

That is some strong words from Jesus but remember that He is the savior of the world so we best heed His advice.

As I was talking about this Thought with my family, my 16-year-old daughter made this great statement which I will pose to you:

“Do you have fair-weather faith or faith that can weather, when life isn’t fair?”

This is a question we all must ask ourselves and come to terms with BEFORE the Storms of Life roll in…The muse for this Thought came last Saturday when I was texting a friend of mine to try to encourage him because he was over a 1,000 miles away from home at the Cancer Center of America. And His response rocked me to the core!

“I’m just getting out of bed. It’s 8:30 here. I’m in either day 3 or 4 of my first cycle. I think it’s the 3rd, but today’s nurses are saying 4th. I mean what do I know – except the one who’s been getting to actually see the changeover from one bag to another

But throughout the round of chemo, I’ve felt incredibly well. God’s grace has been amazing. He really is a good, good Father.

Day by day, His grace sustains me and He continuously shows me that He is still God and that He still heals.

I’ve committed to live out this journey in stewardship of whatever He desires. There will be a story to tell that I believe will touch lives.

I’ve been walking everyday around the hallways and just praying for everyone I see in a room.”

WOW! As I read these texts from my friend Avito I was absolutely blown away from his extreme faith. He is battling a rare type of cancer: a primary mediastinal b-cell lymphoma. I am no doctor, but once you hear the word ‘cancer,’ fear and trepidation grips your heart and once you add “rare” on top of that, I would imagine that an emotional paralysis of sort would follow. I am uncertain how I would react to such a diagnosis. When you read those words above, it is clear that Avito has truly leaned on his faith in God almighty, the creator of Heaven and Earth. He’s fought a brave fight against the cancer and recently decided to pursue an integrative cancer treatment that incorporates a naturopathic element with the conventional methods to treating the lymphoma. If you were to ask him why he can stare at this challenge with such a sense of peace, Avito would calmly but with much faith tell you,

“How can you not when you get a diagnosis, and immediately then be assured with a Holy Spirit whisper that says more loudly, ‘This sickness is not onto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified in it.’”

Absolutely incredible…talk about the fulfillment of Hebrews 10:23 (NLT):

“Let us hold tightly without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep His promise.”

Will you trust God when a diagnosis of cancer is pronounced, or the loss of a child unexpectantly happens? Or if you are laid off from your job or bankruptcy is filled. Where will your faith be at those times? When the rubber meets the road, you (and me too) need to:

“Let Your Faith Speak so loud your heart can’t hear what doubt is saying.”

Doubt is a powerful force, one that Satan continually uses against us. Since the beginning of time, he has been filling our minds with thoughts that God has failed or abandoned us, that the circumstance or diagnosis we are facing is impossible but that just is not so!

“Faith is not knowing what the future holds, but knowing who holds the future.”

God is sovereign and in control and it is precisely at those moments of greatest trial that we need to hold fast to the Lord. In the post ★ Thought for the Day – What Does God’s Love Mean? ★ I shared about my wife contracting Lyme’s Disease in the summer of 2013. For those of you who don’t know about this often misdiagnosed illness, Lyme’s Disease is a debilitating disease that affects the neurological system when a bacterium enters the body from a deer tick bite. As a result of this contagion, the body is devastated and if it is left untreated it can cause paralysis and in some cases even death. As the darkness surrounded my wife and our family, we grabbed hold of God like never before and searched through the Bible for encouragement. My old Pastor from NJ gave this advice long ago to pray the scriptures back to God. So that is exactly what we did, we prayed and prayed for healing and deliverance.

One verse that brought us great comfort was James 5:13-16 (NLT) which describes the “The Power of Prayer”…

“Are any of you suffering hardships? You should pray. Are any of you happy? You should sing praises. Are any of you sick? You should call for the elders of the church to come and pray over you, anointing you with oil in the name of the Lord. Such a prayer offered in faith will heal the sick, and the Lord will make you well. And if you have committed any sins, you will be forgiven.

Confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The earnest prayer of a righteous person has great power and produces wonderful results.”

My wife suffered many days as we prayed and waited for the medication to take effect. For three days I prayed and fasted for her to come out of the fog and for the debilitating fatigue that was wreaking havoc on her body to pass. On the darkest night, we called on our Pastor for prayer and I anointed my wife with oil as James instructed and through God’s mercy and the medication finally taking effect she took a turn for the better. As I think back on that summer and how my wife’s sickness affected our family, if our faith was not rock solid before we went into that storm I don’t know what would have happened. We grew closer to God in that season than in any other time of our life. God was there with us, I know that with every fiber of my being! Every step of the way, our Heavenly Father providing everything we needed but we would never have experienced it if our faith was Fair-weathered. I was reading Psalm 103:1-5 (ESV) the other day and was reminded about His provision and the many, many benefits of serving Him…

“Bless the Lord, O My Soul Of David. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name! Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

Charles Stanley had this great life lesson…

“God wants every part of us – body, soul, and spirit – to grow closer to Him and to enter into a joyful relationship with Him. He seeks worshipers who will gladly give everything they are to Him.”

Like a good father, God wants to be a part of every moment of our lives if we will invite Him in. The question is will you worship God even in the darkest hour? In Christ we can find strength for the struggle and faith for the fight, we just need to make the decision to trust in Him. What will you choose?

I am going to close this Thought a little different than I normally do. Since the muse for this post was my friend’s unshakeable faith I wanted to tell you a little more about him and his lovely family. Avito and his wife, Shelly, met in Bible college in 1997. They married in 1999 and 10 years later decided that adoption would be the means through which they would build their family. Avito and Shelly adopted (3) brothers in 2009 and then again in 2016 they felt the strong desire to yet again expand their family through adoption; a process that started in July of 2016 when (3) new siblings were placed in their home while waiting for the final adoption to come.

Joy did come that morning, but it was rather short-lived, or so it seemed. Just weeks after having placement of these recent three new kids, Avito started experiencing things that just didn’t feel right in his body. After weeks and many doctor visits and follow ups, he was finally admitted to Baylor Grapevine where he was subsequently diagnosed with a somewhat rare type of cancer: a primary mediastinal b-cell lymphoma. The tumor is near the thymus gland in his chest, close to his heart. Avito is now having Chemotherapy done at the Cancer Center of America in Phoenix, Arizona. Last Saturday was the first of a minimum of (6) rounds. The rounds are 3 weeks apart so he will get one week of treatment, go home for two weeks, and then go back to Phoenix for the next 18 months. Unbeknownst to me, when God placed Avito on my heart to reach out last Saturday, he was just beginning the arduous journey. Here is a picture of this beautiful family

Why am I sharing all of this? Well I am glad you asked…I wanted to invite you into my brother in Christ’s story so that you could prayer for God’s healing and provision for Avito, Shelly and their (6) adopted children. Also I wanted to see if you would like to come alongside of this wonderful family who are going through a frightening and expensive storm of life. If you would like to help them financially you can got to their “Let’s Beat Lymphoma Together | Medical Expenses – YouCaring” page here:

https://www.youcaring.com/avitozaldivar-807100

Thank you for your prayers and consideration of financial support! God Bless!

If you’re interested in digging deeper on developing your faith, check out:

★ Thought for the Day – STRENGTH FOR THE STRUGGLE ★

★ Thought for the Day – Candy Land Christianity ★

★ Thought for the Day – Unfathomable Payoff of Faith ★

Also if you are going through a storm right now, here are some Scripture Verses to Stand On. (Just right click on the verses to download.)

Continue reading →

★ Thought for the Day – The End is Near…? ★

Posted on April 13, 2017April 15, 2017 by Daily Dependence

Today we are going to off ramp from our Temptation Series and take a look at what the Bible has to say about “The End Times.” For those who may not know what I am referring when I say “The End Times,” let me give you the Cliff Notes overview from a Christian perspective or worldview. You may have also heard of it referred to as the end of time, end of days, last days, final days, or Armageddon. It is a future time-period described in the last book of the Bible called Revelation. John, the last surviving disciple of Jesus Christ was visited on the Island of Patmos by Jesus Himself. He was given a unique glimpse of what future events will come to pass. Within the 22 chapters of this book of prophecy, John is shown some terrifying judgments for the people left behind after the Jesus “raptures” or takes up His Church. People who do not believe in Jesus at the time He returns will go through what is called the Tribulation, a 7 year period of judgement and great suffering. This will precede the second coming of Christ which is spoken about in Chapter 19 of Revelation. In the final battle between good and evil, Jesus will throw down the Antichrist along with his power structure and usher in the Kingdom of God with His Millennial reign (a thousand years of peace.) This doctrine is called “Premillennialism.” Here is a chart I found that is a great visual to help understand the timeline.

Even though we are pausing from the Pitfalls of Temptation, one could say that many of the signs that we are living in the End Times is indicative of the rampant immorality and yielding to carnal desires. So do you think we are living in the End Times? I saw this comic which made me chuckle…

In my teenage years and early 20’s, I was in NYC often whether for recreation or attending college. I have seen people on the street corner and subway station with a sandwich board or sign proclaiming loudly this message that “The end is near!” Many passerby’s, inducing myself avoided eye contact but you have to admit when you turn on the nightly news or check your twitter feed, the similarities are undeniable. Jesus said in Luke 21:8-11 (NLT) in response to His disciples of what will be the signs that the “End Times” are near:

“He replied, “Don’t let anyone mislead you, for many will come in my name, claiming, ‘I am the Messiah,’ and saying, ‘The time has come!’ But don’t believe them. And when you hear of wars and insurrections, don’t panic. Yes, these things must take place first, but the end won’t follow immediately.”

Then He added, “Nation will go to war against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be great earthquakes, and there will be famines and plagues in many lands, and there will be terrifying things and great miraculous signs from heaven.”

Sound familiar? Sounds a lot like that “crazy guy with the sandwich board,” but more importantly it is what CNN is reporting daily. Before you start to think that I have gone off the deep end, I want to assure you that if you call yourself a Christian or Christ follower there is nothing to fear because Jesus will come back and Rapture [or take up] His Church to Heaven before all the terrifying events occur that the Book of Revelation tells of, (see Luke 17:26-35.)

Typically there are two positions that people take towards “End Times” prophecy and reading the Book of Revelation…either they will avoid it at all costs because of fear or because of the complexity. Or they will embrace it and try to learn and understand this elusive book. I fall in the discovery category myself and recently I have been spending a lot of time studying the subject. In full disclosure, I am far from an expert on the subject matter but I have in the course of my walk with God I have listened to great teachings from:

Kevin Brennan, (my Pastor from our old church in NJ who led me to Christ in 1998.)
Woodrow Kroll, (the former radio host of “Back to the Bible” and a spiritual giant in my development as a Christian after I was saved.)
And most recently Jimmy Evans (who you may know from Marriage Today.)

My resurgence in to studying the Book of Revelation was actually fueled by my 13-year-old daughter who asked to read it with her. When I asked her out all the books to read, why Revelation? She responded:

“Because it is a complicated book and I want to understand it!”

At first I was hesitant because I felt unqualified to lead her in the readings but in the end we read it together along with the Charles Stanley Life Principles Study Bible and it was incredible! I am also a firm believer of what Revelation 1:3 (ESV) says:

“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear, and who keep what is written in it, for the time is near.”

So if you are fearful or reluctant to read this mysterious book of prophecy, I want to encourage you to start reading it for yourself along with a good study Bible from with a respected teacher. As I have been taking in as much End Times teaching as I can to share with my daughter, I listened to an incredible series from Jimmy Evans who preached from 5 different vantage points that demonstrate how we could very well be living in the End Times. (I have copied the links below if you want to check out for yourself.) As I was listening to one of the messages, Jimmy Evans shared 2 Timothy 3:1-8 (ESV) which talks about the “Godlessness in the Last Days”…

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be

1. lovers of self,
2. lovers of money,
3. proud,
4. arrogant,
5. abusive,
6. disobedient to their parents,
7. ungrateful,
8. unholy,
9. heartless,
10. unappeasable,
11. slanderous,
12. without self-control,
13. brutal,
14. not loving good,
15. treacherous,
16. reckless,
17. swollen with conceit,
18. lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,
19. having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power.

Avoid such people. For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith.”

I “bulletized” or restructured this passage to go along with the observation Jimmy Evans made about how the Apostle Paul uses (19) different measures of the immorality in the End Times. Jimmy Evans said:

“Why does he use 19? It explains the full spectrum of immorality. Immorality isn’t just about sexuality. Immorality is about our character. And when a person becomes immoral, it affects every fiber of their character. It’s like cancer. Once you become immoral it just goes into every area of your being…Immorality destroys people’s lives.”

2 Timothy was written circa A.D. 66-67, so when you read this list it is quite interesting to see how much our culture, almost 2,000 years after these words were penned, perfectly reflects this passage! Immorality is all about our character and we must be very careful about the compromise we allow into our lives. I wholeheartedly agree that immortality is like a cancer that will eat us away if we do not keep up our defenses. Jimmy Evans broke down these (19) measures into (4) categories:

1. Exultation of Self and Narcissism
2. Rejection of Authority
3. Rejection of Moral Standards
4. Disloyal, Unloving and Verbally Viscous

Before Jesus Christ intersected my life in August 1998, I must confess that many of these categories were true in my life. As I shared with you in the last post ★ Thought for the Day – Avoiding the Consequences of Alcohol and Drugs (Part 2) ★, my life was full of unrighteous behaviors and as we unpack all the pitfalls or traps we can find ourselves from the various temptations that Satan lays out in front of us, every one of them can fall into one of these (4) categories. Psalm 14:1 (ESV) says:

“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good.”

BUT for those who know they are a sinner and believe in God’s plan of salvation through the death and resurrection of His Son Jesus, you will see that there is hope though the restorative work of Jesus in us! This week on the Church calendar is called “Holy Week,” which is the remembrance of all the events that led up to Jesus’ betrayal, suffering, death, burial and resurrection.

It started on:

Palm Sunday which marked Jesus’ triumphant entrance into Jerusalem (see Luke 19:28-48.)
Then (4) days of teachings by Jesus (see Luke Chapters 20-21.)
The Last Supper on Thursday night (see Luke 22:1-65.)
The Trial and Crucifixion of Jesus on Friday (see Luke 22:66 – 23:54.)
The Sabbath on Saturday (see Luke 23:55-56.)
And Jesus glorious resurrection from the dead on Sunday (see Luke 24:1-12.)

For the believer this is a special week as we remember the brutal sacrifice that Jesus made for us on the cross as part of God’s rescue plan for humanity. John 3:16 says:

Praise God that He made a way for us to have eternal life! I love this graphic that illustrates our need perfectly…

The matter is black and white. SIN is the PROBLEM and JESUS is the ANSWER! Our choices, the temptations we decide to indulge in will lead to sin, which then in turn separates us from God. We can try all kinds of things to bridge the gap from doing “good deeds” or trying to be “religious” or deceiving ourselves that we are moral because we haven’t done ______ (fill in the blank) like he/she has. BUT hear me in this; NOTHING can help us cross the divide except faith in Jesus! 2 Corinthians 5:21 (NLT) says:

“For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

All past, present, and future sins that anyone will ever make was paid once one and for all on the cross when Jesus took our place. Every person that will ever call on Jesus is covered by His redemptive blood and is available to anyone who asks (see Ephesians 2:8-9.)

If you are reading this and have never made the choice to follow Jesus, I want to encourage you accept God’s salvation plan through the death and resurrection of His Son. All you need to do is pray to God to receive eternal life. Below is a simple prayer you can pray to start your relationship, the words you say really don’t matter, there is nothing special about them, but the emotion and belief in your heart does.

God take this broken, sinful person and forgive my sins. I want a relationship with you I am in need of a Savior. I believe that Jesus came to die for my sins and that He is the bridge that brings me to eternal life with you forever. Please forgive all my sins. I accept the free gift of eternal life and know that I can never do enough good deeds to earn that salvation. In Jesus Name I pray! Amen!

If you earnestly prayed that prayer, you are a new creation (see Romans 10:9-10 and 2 Corinthians 5:17!) You can contact me at DailyDependence@gmail.com if you have any questions about your new life in Jesus Christ; I would love to discuss your decision more.

Now for those who are believers in Christ and you have the truth in you so the second coming of Jesus should not be something to worry about, nor should reading the book of Revelation be something to fear or dread. As believers in Christ, (including those of you who may have just prayed that prayer to receive Christ…) we will not experience any of the frightening imaginary that John speaks of. I believe it is important to study Bible prophecy because though the cross and resurrection is critical to remember and be thankful for, even more importantly is the fact that Jesus is now on His throne in Heaven making intersection between us and God the Father (see Romans 8:32-34.)

The cross is the emblem for the Christian faith but He’s not on it anymore and ultimately unless we study prophecy we will not know the signs and the times of His Second coming. We must not be ignorant of the future. Revelation 16:15 (NLT) says:

“Look, I will come as unexpectedly as a thief! Blessed are all who are watching for me, who keep their clothing ready so they will not have to walk around naked and ashamed.”

Jesus used similar language in Luke 12:37-40 when He warned everyone to be ready for His Second Coming. The Apostle Paul also described the second coming of Christ as “a thief in night” 1 Thessalonians 5:2. And in 2 Peter 3:10, the Apostle Peter also said the same thing “the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief.” The enemy wants you scared but the only people who need to be afraid are those who are not following Jesus. Read the verse again “Blessed are all who are watching for me.” We should all be eager for His return.

Many people question “why do bad things happen to good people” and “why do good things happen to bad people.” The answer…Sin. We live in a broken and fallen world and just like those (19) measures of Godlessness that we read earlier in 2 Timothy, there is without a doubt evil in this world but take heart, judgement is coming for all those who commit unspeakable acts and refusing to repent and turn to God. Revelation 19:11-16 (NKJV) gives a vivid picture of Christ’s return on a White Horse:

“Now I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse. And He who sat on him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and makes war. His eyes were like a flame of fire, and on His head were many crowns. He had a name written that no one knew except Himself. He was clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. And the armies in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, followed Him on white horses. Now out of His mouth goes a sharp sword, that with it He should strike the nations. And He Himself will rule them with a rod of iron. He Himself treads the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. And He has on His robe and on His thigh a name written: KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.”

This imaginary could be disturbing but if you are a believer in Jesus, there is nothing to worry about. I love what Woodrow Kroll said:

“The book of Revelation is a great book of encouragement if you are on the right side. You have to be on the victory side.”

And if you haven’t figured it out yet, the victory side is with Jesus! Revelation 11:15 (ESV) says:

Then the seventh angel blew his trumpet, and there were loud voices in heaven, saying, “The kingdom of the world has become the kingdom of our Lord and of his Christ, and he shall reign forever and ever.”

Jesus is coming back for all His followers and then will judge the world after the 7 year tribulation has ended. I want to ask one more question for those who still are undecided on whether to accept Jesus as your savior or not…

If you were to die today, would you be ready to meet Jesus? Are you right now ready to stand before Jesus?

I urge you not to wait until it is too late. Like Jimmy Evans, I too believe we are living in the End Times and the last thing you want to do is to delay the decision to follow Christ and be left behind when Jesus returns for His Church!

The Choice is yours, what will you do with this truth you received today?

Today’s post covered a lot of ground so to help you in your development; here are several different resources…

If you would like to read more about God’s restorative power check out:

★ Thought for the Day – But God… ★

Though we are halfway through I made a Holy Week Reading Plan to read in my own devotion time if you would like to follow along with the last week of Jesus’ last week on Earth.