Be On Guard

I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.
2nd Peter 3:17-18 NLT

There is always someone, somewhere, who is somehow trying to ensure that the Name of Jesus will not be heard. That being said, I want to go on record and to be held accountable that the Promise for Today will never be a political statement as the world sees politics, but it WILL always be about the Word of God and taking a stand for what is holy and righteous, in spite of public opinion, and that in and of itself, may cause it to appear politically inclined. When events take place that challenge or defy Scripture, or even reinforce the prophetic, I pray God will show us His Word for that time. If I have to worry about who is going to be offended by what I write, you can best believe the only One I will worry about offending is Christ.

And so...be on guard.

I want to remind you that in the last days scoffers will come, mocking the truth and following their own desires. They will say, “What happened to the promise that Jesus is coming again? From before the times of our ancestors, everything has remained the same since the world was first created.” They deliberately forget that God made the heavens by the word of his command, and he brought the earth out from the water and surrounded it with water. Then he used the water to destroy the ancient world with a mighty flood. And by the same word, the present heavens and earth have been stored up for fire. They are being kept for the day of judgment, when ungodly people will be destroyed.

But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: A day is like a thousand years to the Lord, and a thousand years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief. Then the heavens will pass away with a terrible noise, and the very elements themselves will disappear in fire, and the earth and everything on it will be found to deserve judgment.

Since everything around us is going to be destroyed like this, what holy and godly lives you should live, looking forward to the day of God and hurrying it along. On that day, he will set the heavens on fire, and the elements will melt away in the flames. But we are looking forward to the new heavens and new earth he has promised, a world filled with God’s righteousness.

And so, dear friends, while you are waiting for these things to happen, make every effort to be found living peaceful lives that are pure and blameless in his sight. And remember, the Lord’s patience gives people time to be saved. This is what our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you with the wisdom God gave him—speaking of these things in all of his letters. Some of his comments are hard to understand, and those who are ignorant and unstable have twisted his letters to mean something quite different, just as they do with other parts of Scripture. And this will result in their destruction.

I am warning you ahead of time, dear friends. Be on guard so that you will not be carried away by the errors of these wicked people and lose your own secure footing. Rather, you must grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. All glory to him, both now and forever! Amen.

2nd Peter 3:5-18 New Living Translation

Prayer:

Father,
           Keep us alert and always ever mindful of You and what You want. Father, we choose to become less, so that You become MORE in our lives. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen

The King is Coming

Take a lesson from the fig tree. From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know summer's just around the corner. So it is with you: When you see all these things, you'll know he's at the door. Don't take this lightly. I'm not just saying this for some future generation, but for all of you. This age continues until all these things take place. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won't wear out.
Matthew 24:32-35 The Message

As children, most of us have pretended to be kings or queens or princesses and princes. And if not that, then a Cinderella type who had hopes of becoming royalty or a vanquishing hero who would win and rule. In real life, how many of us ever think about an audience with royalty? I would venture to say the odds are astronomically small, mostly because Americans don't have royalty in office. Brits might think about it a little more, but what are the odds? And if you could get an audience with the queen, you would have to go through training on the proper protocol before you are granted the actual audience. Then, you are taken to the queen, she does not come find you.

Interesting. The God of the Universe, Creator of all, comes to us. More paradox. It started in the Garden of Eden. Every day, in the cool of the evening, God would come. In the evening of the day that Adam and Eve ate of the forbidden fruit, God still came. Have you ever thought about that? Did you think God didn't know that they had done that? Yet, He came.

And He came as a baby, born in a manger, and died among thieves...because He carried our sins on Him. Our thieving from God. He was still king...in Truth, the King of kings. Would you agree?

He's coming again. His arrival is imminent, but it won't be like the world will try to convince you. Scripture reads, "If anyone tries to flag you down, calling out, 'Here's the Messiah!' or points, 'There he is!' don't fall for it. Fake Messiahs and lying preachers are going to pop up everywhere. Their impressive credentials and dazzling performances will pull the wool over the eyes of even those who ought to know better. But I've given you fair warning. "So if they say, 'Run to the country and see him arrive!' or, 'Quick, get downtown, see him come!' don't give them the time of day. The Arrival of the Son of Man isn't something you go to see. He comes like swift lightning to you! Whenever you see crowds gathering, think of carrion vultures circling, moving in, hovering over a rotting carcass. You can be quite sure that it's not the living Son of Man pulling in those crowds." Matthew 24:23-28 The Message

Keep in mind, The Arrival of the Son of Man isn't something you go to see.

Read on. "Then, the Arrival of the Son of Man! It will fill the skies—no one will miss it. Unready people all over the world, outsiders to the splendor and power, will raise a huge lament as they watch the Son of Man blazing out of heaven. At that same moment, he'll dispatch his angels with a trumpet-blast summons, pulling in God's chosen from the four winds, from pole to pole.

"Take a lesson from the fig tree. From the moment you notice its buds form, the merest hint of green, you know summer's just around the corner. So it is with you: When you see all these things, you'll know he's at the door. Don't take this lightly. I'm not just saying this for some future generation, but for all of you. This age continues until all these things take place. Sky and earth will wear out; my words won't wear out.

"But the exact day and hour? No one knows that, not even heaven's angels, not even the Son. Only the Father knows.

"The Arrival of the Son of Man will take place in times like Noah's. Before the great flood everyone was carrying on as usual, having a good time right up to the day Noah boarded the ark. They knew nothing—until the flood hit and swept everything away.

"The Son of Man's Arrival will be like that: Two men will be working in the field—one will be taken, one left behind; two women will be grinding at the mill—one will be taken, one left behind. So stay awake, alert. You have no idea what day your Master will show up. But you do know this: You know that if the homeowner had known what time of night the burglar would arrive, he would have been there with his dogs to prevent the break-in. Be vigilant just like that.
You have no idea when the Son of Man is going to show up.

But He IS coming. He said so...and after all, He is King. Are you ready for His arrival?

Prayer:

Father,

Thank You for loving us enough to come for us. Keep us ever mindful of You, so that we are watching for Your return. In Jesus' Name we pray. Amen