Live With The End In Mind

Therefore encourage one another with these words

Throughout scripture we are told of tribulation and the coming of the Lord.  Why does God tell us this?  I have to think it is to encourage our faith and to trust Him to lead us through everyday of our life for the blessing of not only our life on earth but also for ETERNITY.   I think there are times we lose sight of eternity through the busyness of our daily lives.  We get so caught up in the here and now that we forget His promise of eternity.  It seems so easy to drift away and live luke warm lives instead of abundantly for Him.  What is the prevention and cure to this way of life? Continually repent and stand in His grace.  Desire Him with all your heart, mind and soul.  Live each day to bring honor and glory to Him.  Learn to be a humble servant.  Learn to give more than you get.  (for the record you will never be able to out give God but it is sure rewarding to try)  Learn to hear His voice speak to your heart.  Stay in scripture always.  Speak of His grace, mercy and love everyday.  Seek to be His vessel to use for His glory and honor. Rejoice in this life no matter what. Learn to forgive.  Be at peace with all as far as it concerns you.  Rely on, trust in, and cling to Him alone.  Know the difference between scripture and culture – there is a big difference.  Do not try to perform your way to God.  And in all things give thanks.

 

Matthew 24:29
“Immediately after the tribulation of those days the sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light, and the stars will fall from heaven, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. Then will appear in heaven the sign of the Son of Man, and then all the tribes of the earth will mourn, and they will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven with power and great glory. And he will send out his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of heaven to the other.

1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words

1 Corinthians 15:51
I tell you this, brothers: flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable. Behold! I tell you a mystery. We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. When the perishable puts on the imperishable, and the mortal puts on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written:
“Death is swallowed up in victory.”
“O death, where is your victory?
O death, where is your sting

Revelation 11:15
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.” And the twenty- four elders who sit on their thrones before God fell on their faces and worshiped God, saying,
“We give thanks to you, Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was,
for you have taken your great power
and begun to reign.
The nations raged,
but your wrath came,
and the time for the dead to be judged

Believe It or Not

Believe it or not but there is a time coming when all will stand before God and give account for their life.  Saying this is a fairy tale does not make a difference.  God sent His Son to redeem mankind so that all who believe would not perish but have everlasting life. We will enter a time of judgement before God.  Some may look at Matthew 16:27 and think they must earn their way but what they do.  Scripture says two clear points on this.  1. The only work that God requires is that we believe in the redeeming work of His son.  2. It is not by works we are saved but by the grace of God, lest any man should boast.  This may seem contradictory at first glance – Not by works yet judged by what we have done.  In short if we believe then we have said in our heart that we trust in Christ not only for salvation/redemption but also for leading us through life in a manner that honors and glorifies God.  Believing/Trusting is not a one and done event but rather a life long commitment to humbly follow and serve the God of our salvation.

Matthew 16:27
For the Son of Man is going to come with his angels in the glory of his Father, and then he will repay each person according to what he has done

1 Thessalonians 4:16
For the Lord himself will descend from heaven with a cry of command, with the voice of an archangel, and with the sound of the trumpet of God. And the dead in Christ will rise first. Then we who are alive, who are left, will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air, and so we will always be with the Lord. Therefore encourage one another with these words

Jude 1:14
“Behold, the Lord comes with ten thousands of his holy ones, to execute judgment on all and to convict all the ungodly of all their deeds of ungodliness that they have committed in such an ungodly way, and of all the harsh things that ungodly sinners have spoken against him

Revelation 20:12
And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Then another book was opened, which is the book of life. And the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to what they had done