I am wondering if anyone besides the Born-Again are able to understand the enormity of the Rapture of the Church of Jesus Christ? As I look around myself, watching the World (People), I am not able to see that all that many are reading the Word of God. The reason for my Fear is that to miss what the Word of God says will result in far too many missing the Rapture!

I read many articles written by other authors; along with mine they are saying the exact same thing! The Rapture is close, so very close, and you do NOT want to be part of those Left Behind! And it would appear far too many are not listening, are not reading. And from the looks of it, far too many could care less. Now that is truly concerning!

Between you and me, I hear things like “I feel so holy when I walk inside in the Church.” Do they feel this holiness when they approach the Throne of God in Prayer? Do they understand the requirements for Salvation…on their part? I also hear some people saying that “God is a loving God and would never send anyone to Hell.” For the most part, they are absolutely Correct. YOU send yourself to Hell by not following Jesus Christ in your life!

You may like going to Church, the Process of Worship, the Pomp & Circumstance, the music, whatever. That does NOT mean you are saved to Jesus Christ. Many people like to send cards or letters saying something about how they Love God. But do they truly Love God enough to present themselves before a Just and Righteous God as a Sinner and asking for HIS Forgiveness of their Sin? Are they willing to come face to face with all their Sin, ask for Forgiveness and then turn around and follow Jesus Christ? It is your Sin that stands between you and the Lord God!

John 14:6 “Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.”

My Friends, that is written in Black and White for a reason. It is the absolute Truth! There is NO way to Heaven and the Father…except through Jesus Christ.

No one is Good enough! Jesus Said that God is the only one that is good. You and I are NOT holy enough to go to Heaven on our own. If anyone tells you otherwise…they are LYING to you! You cannot buy your way into Heaven…money is something of this world. The only Prayer that will get you into Heaven is the Prayer that asks for the Lord to Forgive you of all your Sin, and that you will follow HIM…as in a relationship. You must be sincere in this Prayer request; you must be completely Honest because the Lord will know whether you are honest or not!

No one else is able to Pray YOU into Heaven, I don’t care who they are! There is NO Purgatory. There is NO waiting period or waiting place…you either believe the Word of God…or you don’t. If anyone tells you otherwise…they are LYING to you!

Jesus Christ is God in human form, and HE came to this earth…to die in your place! It is HIS Blood that was shed on that Cross…to cover your Sin. For your Sin to be covered by HIS Blood…You must ask HIM for it. You must change your life to follow HIM…you must leave your Old Sin-filled Life at HIS Cross. There simply is NO other way! That is the only Prayer that works. Read this:

My Lord and Savior, I come to you to ask you to forgive me of all my Sin. I Know I am a sinner but I want to change my Life and follow you. I come to you, Father, to ask that you cleanse me and make me whole once again. I give my Life, my everything to you Father! I hold nothing back, and I know I am not worthy of this Love by you. Forgive me, Father, of all my Sin; cover me with your Blood from your Cross on Calvary. I know you died there for me and that you rose again on the third day, and you wait for me in Heaven right now. In Jesus Name I Pray…Amen!

Romans 10:9 “That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.”

It is that simple…but…it must be sincere…with all honesty. This is the Truth, and it will set you free!

Having said all this from the Bible, do you understand what will happen on the day that the Lord returns in the Rapture?

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 “For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.”

The next question is the most important! Do YOU belong to Jesus Christ? Do YOU follow HIM in every part of your Life? The answer YOU give will tell you whether you will go in the Rapture or not.

If you do NOT go in the Rapture…and you do not know Jesus Christ as your Savior…you will go through the Tribulation. You will NOT see Heaven unless you give your Life to HIM. At that point, it will require your death because the whole world hates God!

I am constantly amazed at the usage of “Small Words” that are used in the Word of God. Words like “FEW” or even the difference of “In,” as in do you believe IN Jesus Christ or not? Does this make any sense to you?

Matthew 7:13-14 “Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and FEW there be that find it.”

These small words are significant to say the least! Many people know of Jesus Christ…but FEW know HIM personally. There is indeed a difference between the two. Do you believe IN Jesus Christ? IS Jesus Christ YOUR Lord and Savior? Many people talk about God…the real question is, do you KNOW God…is HE your Lord and Savior? Too few speak of the Lord Jesus Christ in a Personal manner…as in calling HIM…MY Lord and Savior. Does that make sense to you?

When you are “Saved to Jesus Christ,” you are filled with HIM. HE is your everything, every day! In the 24/7/365 days…for Eternity! There is no end to Eternity with HIM.

Matthew 7:20 “Wherefore by their fruits ye shall know them.”

This means that your actions (Fruits) will prove whether you follow Jesus Christ or not. Your entire desire will be to Honor HIM…as your Lord and Savior.

Ephesians 1:12-14 “That we should be to the praise of his glory, who first trusted in Christ. In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”

There is no end to HIS Love for us…HE created each and every one of us. Please remember this: WE are the fallen species here…it is Jesus Christ…that saves us…to HIM.

The next question is this…where is your Home in all of Eternity? As the Rapture grows ever close, that is the most important question there is…who do you follow?

2 Corinthians 6:2 “For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.”

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“

All Scripture comes from the King James Version of the Bible.

All Emphasis is mine.

 

Mourning – Our Narcissism vs. His Love

Life is full of many mysteries. Some of them we know already, while others evade our understanding. Many times, we simply don’t pay any attention or at least enough attention to fully understand what all is going on. Humans have this propensity for thinking that we are so Intelligent or Wise, when in actuality…we fail miserably at both. Why is it that way for us?

This past Thursday night, my Wife and I lost a very good Friend; she went to sleep and never woke up again. Margaret was a rather short woman, less than 5 feet tall. Yet she had quite the awesome personality – a little Napoleon if you will – feisty and stubborn, but a Heart as big as the Universe. Now, we could sit around and wring our collective hands and weep for her. But the question would then be WHY? Do you think our Narcissism would be showing if we did? The answer is Yes!

Every single person on this earth feels sadness at such an event; we will miss them, we don’t like our apple cart being messed with, or our Calm waters rippled…to put it simply.

Each of us already knows that, if anyone is born on this earth, one day each of us must die. And so, it is the ones that remain that feel the loss, most notably in the Family or close Friends. In this case, Margaret was a great Friend, especially to my Wife who knew Margaret the best; they worked together for many, many years. What some do not know is that Margaret was a Born-Again Believer in Jesus Christ and followed HIM with every fiber of her being. Praise the Lord for Her! So my Wife and I know that Margaret is now with Her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, and she is beyond ecstatic! Knowing this, should we feel sad at her passing? Should we mourn? The answer is Yes!

John 11:34-36 “And said, Where have ye laid him? They said unto him, Lord, come and see. Jesus wept. Then said the Jews, Behold how he loved him!”

As we see here, Jesus Christ wept for the death of Lazarus. Can we be better than that? NO. Mourning the passing of another is very normal and a very needful thing in our lives. This is simply the Truth that the passing of a dear one is tough, to put it mildly.

The difference for us that knew Margaret is this: Margaret is in Heaven as we read this; she is never going to be sick or unhappy or anything of the like. Margaret is no longer held or confined by the Physical of this world. Her existence is now Eternal. It can be said that, even as we live here on earth, we are Eternal already. Of course, that Eternal existence is dependent on whether you belong to Jesus Christ thus Heaven, or to Satan thus Hell. We Know Margaret is with her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

We humans are by nature a very Narcissistic species. In other words, we think of ourselves before we think of others. We feel all the emotions in this life for ourselves before we feel them for others. How easy is it for us to complain before we give Praise? Yes indeed, we will miss our close Friend, but the knowledge that she is in Heaven right now is greater! Thus we see that the Lord gives us a “New Way” to view such events.

It is truly a great comfort to know 2 Corinthians 5:8-9 “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord. Wherefore we labour, that, whether present or absent, we may be accepted of him.”

As Born-Again Believers and as rather Narcissitic humans, we are able to see both the good and the bad in everything – thanks to Adam and Eve and the Fruit of the Tree of Knowledge of good and Evil. How would we be if Satan had never tempted Eve and for them both never to eat of that Fruit? Would we, still KNOW the sadness and feeling of loss of a Family Member or Good Friend? Now, that is something to ponder!

Still as yet, they did indeed eat of that forbidden fruit and we…years down the line… feel the pain of a Passing away of someone close. Satan…I have some really bad words for you! Albiet, the Lord shall repay…and Satan is in for some really bad times…like for Eternity! That’s enough for me.

How odd, or maybe better…Sad is it that so many go during the Holiday Season? And then, how many will be able to see…The Gift…the Lord is giving us in taking that Loved one in such an auspicious time? With all the memories we have that we hold Dear in our Hearts, here is another even greater gift – a Loved one at Home in Heaven with the Lord God! And then, considering that we are Born-Again as well, we will not only see our Lord and Savior; we will see our Loved ones as well. Praise the Lord for all HIS Love!

It sounds sort of odd, especially to the Lost, that we can sit down and begin to count on our fingers all those that are in Heaven and waiting on us to arrive! And then to think, that so many of us humans wonder how absolutely wonderful the Wedding Supper of our Lord and Savior will be! I am sorry; I simply do not have the words to express that level of Joy and Happiness…just think…for Eternity!

You can bet, as the narcissistic humans that we are, we will truly miss our Great Friend; we will miss the counsel and the great fun times we shared…but now we can look forward to even greater times…With our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ…and Family and Friends in Heaven! May I say again, and then continually…Praise the Lord!

Christmas for my Wife and I has been filled with the Loss of many Family Members and Friends. I am not sad…they are simply on Vacation…and they await us joining them…in Heaven. None of us will ever experience Death and loss ever again! Still as yet, that is because we follow Jesus Christ with every fiber of our beings.

The question now is this: What about YOU? IS your Eternal Home in Heaven…or in Hell? You already know the answer to that. And yet that will forever be between you and Jesus Christ alone! It is not for me to know unless you wish to share that with me. The narcissist side of me is more than Thankful to Jesus Christ for saving me. I will see Heaven! I will see my Family Members and Friends once again. I will meet others that Love the Lord as I do, and together we will Praise HIM.

My Lord and Father in Heaven, I come before you in all humility. Father, I ask that you speak to the heart of someone that is lost that is reading your Holy Word and this small article. Bless them Father and call them to you! Give them the same Joy in the knowledge that YOU alone are God and that YOU alone can save them! With all earnestness, Father…give their heart a boost and a desire for YOU. I pray this in all Fervency, Father…In Jesus Name…Amen!

The Lord Bless each and every one of you this Christmas! May HE give you Peace and Joy until we meet at HIS feet in Heaven!

John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.“

Luke 2:11-14 “For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord. And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger. And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying, Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

All Scripture comes from the King James Version of the Bible.