The End of the World... Today?

It was only recently that I became aware of a street sign on one of the major roads through my city.  It simply proclaimed, "The Lord is coming.  May 21, 2011".  Also seen on the sign was a website, which I confess that I have not looked up, and will not mention in this post.  I wondered at the sign, but didn't really think much about it until yesterday when my colleague at work mentioned that his pastor friends were posting on facebook that they were going ahead with their sermon preparation for Sunday just in case the world didn't end on Saturday, the 21st of May.

So, last night I watched some of the cable news shows, and was not disappointed to see that each of them had a short piece on this supposed momentous upcoming "end of the world" event...  granted, there were not any who were taking this apocalyptic prophesy seriously, but they covered enough of the story for me to learn what was behind the sign I had seen.

In short, an elderly Christian gentleman, through his study of the Holy Bible, believes that he found passages that enabled him to calculate the exact date that Jesus will return and take the faithful believers to heaven, and at the same time that the judgement of the world will commence... that day being sometime today, Saturday, May 21, 2011.    

A few thoughts about this:

I am Christian and do believe that at some time, Jesus will return, as He promised.  That being said, I do feel it is important to point out a couple of things about this event:

1.  When Jesus' disciples ask when the time will be that He [Jesus] will return, and what will be the sign of His coming, and of the end of the age, Jesus speaks of many events that must happen before His return [see Matthew 24].  He cautions that there will be many who will try to mislead believers [Jesus calls them false prophets], but in answer to His disciples' question of when He would return, He says, "But of that day and hour no one knows, not even the angels of heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone."  [Matthew 24:36]

2.  The Apostle Paul, in his first letter to the Thessalonians, echoes this, as he tells the believers, "... the day of the Lord will come just like a thief in the night" [1 Thessalonians 5:2]... In other words, suddenly and without warning.

3.  When this event does happen, it won't be in secret... all will know and see it take place.  Jesus tells His disciples, "...they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of the sky with power and great glory." [Matthew 24:30]  We will not need to be told that He has come... when it happens for real, all will know... there will be no questions or doubt in anyone's mind.

I think that there are far too many people who focus on and worry about the exact date and time the Lord will return.  In the past, people have come to my house to tell me that they know when Jesus will return, and to ask if I wanted to know.  My answer to that type of question is, "No."  I would rather do my best to live as a faithful servant of my Lord, Jesus the Christ, so that when He does return, if it happens to be in my lifetime, He will find me living a life that brings honor to His name and doing the things that He has called me to do.

Do I believe that Jesus will return again?  Yes.

Do I think he will return today, May 21, 2011?  I don't know... it is always a possibility.

Am I ready for His return?  I believe this is actually the most important question that each person needs to ask themselves... However, I can only answer that question for myself...  You have to examine your own heart and relationship with the Lord, and answer it for yourself.

God's Grace... Our Response...

My pastor used this quote a couple of weeks ago in his sermon...  

"Religion says, 'I obey, therefore I am accepted'...   The Christian gospel transformation message says, 'I am accepted, therefore I obey.'"                   ~ Tim Kellerman


"For it is by grace that you have been saved through faith - and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God - not by works, so that no one can boast.  For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."            ~ Ephesians 2:8-10


God's gift to us of salvation through grace, and faith in that grace, is the starting point from which our response of good works and good deeds should spring!!  God has much for us to do to help alleviate the pain and suffering in our world.  Who will seek God's will and plan?  Who will be willing to follow God's will and plan?  Who will answer God's call to serve?

Faith Reflections: The Road to Emmaus

Read Luke 24:13-35

In this passage, two disciples of Jesus are walking from Jerusalem to a small village named Emmaus. It has just been a couple of days since Jesus has been crucified. They are troubled and dejected as they discuss the recent events while they walk, perhaps wondering what they would do now that their teacher and master and Lord had been crucified. Possibly, they are thinking that it wasn't supposed to have happened that way... then a third traveller joins them and asks what they are talking about.

The scriptures tell us that although the disciples could see and hear this third traveller, they did not really know who he was... they could not really "see" or "know" him for who he was until he "opened" their eyes and revealed himself to them as their Lord and master, the one who had so recently been crucified. And then, after their encounter with Jesus is over, they realize that somehow, they must have known all along who he was, because their hearts had "burned within them" as he had spoken with them.

As we walk life's road, while we cannot see the One who walks with us, yet we still can know who He is... with our eyes "opened" by His love and faithfulness, we can "see" Him who is now invisible to us... and through prayer and reading the scriptures, we can talk with and hear from the One who travels life's road with us. As the hearts of the early disciples "burned within them", even when they did not yet know who was traveling with them, so our hearts will also "burn within us" as our unseen Lord and Savior journeys with us along the roads we travel in life.

The Great Commission...

We Christians call it The Great Commission... "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit..." [Matthew 28:19 NRSV].

I just wonder what that "looks like" in real life for those who consider themselves to be Christians... how do you "go... and make disciples [of Jesus, the Christ]"?

I would like to know how those of you who read this post, and consider yourself to be a Christian, "go... and make disciples". How do you answer the call of the Great Commission?

And if you are not Christian, then I would like to know how you think that one who says they are a Christian should "go... and make disciples".

I invite your comments...

God's Love and Mercy is So Great...

To get to Easter, you have to go through Good Friday... which wasn't so "good" when it happened... Jesus' blood, Jesus' life for our sins... the price for our salvation... the price for our reconciliation with God... a brutal and savage act done to one who was innocent of any sin... for my sins and your sins... because God loves us so much...

"For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him." John 3:16-17

Video Link

Once Saved, Always Saved?

I recently watched a YouTube video that shows a pastor from an un-named denomination calling John Wesley [founder of the Methodist movement] a heretic because of Wesley's belief that one could "fall away" from his/her faith and "perish everlastingly".  This pastor quotes a few passages from Wesley's "Serious Thoughts Upon the Perseverance of the Saints" as he preaches about Wesley's "heretical" beliefs.  

"Perseverance of the saints" is a Christian teaching that none who are truly saved can be condemned for their sins or finally fall away from the faith.  This teaching is a part of the traditional Calvinist doctrine found in churches that adhere to the Reformed Christian confessions of faith [the Presbyterian Church is one example].  It is also a part of the Free Grace or non-traditional Calvinist doctrine found in some Baptist and other evangelical churches.  Although there are some differences between the traditional Calvinist and Free Grace [non-traditional Calvinist] doctrines, both would describe Christian believers as "once saved, always saved". 

When Wesley wrote this essay, Serious Thoughts Upon the Perseverance of the Saints, he was responding to what he felt was a need for a treatise that examined this doctrine [as found in the Reformed Christian confessions of faith]  and that was written so that most intelligent people could understand it, whether or not they were educated as theologians. [Author's note: I must admit that I think that for 21st century readers, 17th century writings can be a challenge to understand, in spite of one's level of education.]  

In his essay, Wesley askes the question,  "Can any of these [meaning "saints" - any person who has answered God's call to follow the Christian faith] fall away? By falling away, we mean, not barely falling into sin. This, it is granted, they may. But can they fall totally? Can any of these so fall from God as to perish everlastingly?"  The entire thrust of Wesley's essay was an answer to that question, and his conclusion, based on many scriptural passages, was that a "saint" could indeed fall away from the Christian faith and "perish everlastingly" [lose his/her eternal salvation].  In other words, one was not "once saved, always saved".  

This refuted Calvin's theology, which stated that those who apparently fell away from the Christian faith either never had true faith to begin with, or that they would have to return to the faith at some point in the future.  It also serves as an answer to those who believe the Free Grace Theology [non-traditional Calvinist doctrines], which, in effect, says that a person could accept Christ as Savior, but then could continue to willfully live a lifestyle of sin, or even completely walk away from their faith in Christ, but yet, still be thought of as "saved", with their eternal salvation unconditionally guaranteed.

So what do you think?  Is the pastor on the YouTube video correct - that Wesley is a "heretic" because he believes one can "so fall from God as to perish everlastingly"?  Do you believe that a person can fall from the Christian faith and lose their salvation?  Why or why not?   

Living Stones - a chosen people... and a light to the world...

I named this blog "Living Stones - a chosen people", because those of us who consider ourselves to be "Christ-followers" have indeed been chosen by our Creator...  but not "chosen" in the sense of being an exclusive group, "better" than any other peoples, and or "above" all other peoples...

Rather, we are people who have been "chosen" for a task...  we have been given a job, so to speak.  We are to be lights in the darkness of our world.  In the midst of hopelessness and despair, heartache and suffering, we are to be Christ's light so that others might have a chance to find their way through the darkness that surrounds them.  "... for you are a chosen people.  You are royal priests, a holy nation, God's very own possession.  As a result, you can show others the goodness of God, for he called you out of the darkness into his wonderful light."  [1 Peter 2:9 NLT]

We may be living stones, being built into God's spiritual house [1 Peter 2:5], but we must not think that we will be the only "stones" that God is looking for...   and so we must shine out with Christ's love to all those around us, in the same way that the lighthouse shown as a background picture in this blog, shines a guiding light that revolves and shines in all directions around it.  

As God's chosen people, royal priests and holy nation, we are chosen to do no less than the lighthouse...  we are chosen to shine out a light in all directions of our lives, to all we come in contact with, that they might also become a shining, living stone in God's spiritual house. 

Upon whom is your light shining today?  And is it the light of Christ that they see?  

New Year's Resolutions - Revisited

I know, I know...   here it is February and I am posting about New Year's resolutions.  Usually people only talk about them during the first few days of the new year - if they even remember them on Jan. 2nd...

I said in an earlier post, dated Dec. 30th, that I quit making resolutions...  but then I challenged those who might read this blog to make a resolution about reading through the Bible.  Well, I guess I still do make them, because once again, I have taken up the challenge that I gave out.  I am reading through the Bible this year using the "schedule" that I explained in the post from Dec. 30th...   although, I have to be honest here and admit that I am a few days behind, so I will need to read a few extra chapters for a few days in order to catch up to where I should be...  but I have gotten through the 4 gospels already.

I will from time to time post some thoughts that my reading might generate, and of course I welcome all comments, questions, etc that you might have.  And if you do not happen to think of yourself as a Christian, or as someone who is "religious", but find that you want to comment or ask questions, please feel free to do so!!  This blog is an "equal opportunity blog", so all readers are welcome to comment...  [remember the "rules of engagement" please and be civil to others in your comments].

Anyway, so much for my New Year's resolutions...   did anyone else make any?...   and are you still keeping them? 

Question of the Day - New Year's Resolutions

It is that time of year...  the old is going and the new is soon to arrive...   so...   what are your New Year's resolutions?  Me?  I've actually quit making them, because I rarely keep them...  

But here is an idea if you need one...  Decide that you are going to read the Bible every day...  What?  You say you are not a Christian?  One does not need to be a Christian, or even to believe in God to read the Bible...  So I offer this as a challenge...  here is how it works...  

Start at the beginning of the New Testament with Matthew, chapters 1-4 on New Year's day... and continue to read 4 chapters every day... Then, when you finish the New Testament, go to the beginning of the Old Testament [Genesis]... continue reading 4 chapters a day...  And when you finish the Old Testament, start the New Testament all over again.  

By the end of the year you will have read the New Testament twice and the Old Testament once...  and it doesn't matter which version of the Bible you read... there is such a variety... pick the one that is the easiest for you to read and understand... 

Who will take me up on the challenge to read through the Bible in 2009?

Advent and the Second Coming of Jesus, The Christ

This time of year in the Christian Church is known as Advent.  It is a time of preparation as we await the celebration of the birth of the baby Jesus.  It is also a time of preparation as we await the return of Jesus, not as a baby, but as Lord of creation, "coming in the clouds with great power and glory" [Mark 13:26, see also Matthew 24:30 and Luke 21:27].  

Although we are told in the Bible that "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" [Matthew 24:36, Mark 13:52], many people speculate as to when Jesus might return, based on events that have transpired in history, usually with the establishment of the Nation of Israel being a starting point.  

While it is true that there are differing opinions as to when this second coming of Jesus might occur, and equally true that the best thing might be to not speculate, but leave it in God's hands [where it already is], what is your opinion?  Do you believe we are in the "end times" and if so, when do you think Jesus might return?