“Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Revelation 1:3 NIV Read full chapter
In His Love, Cindy
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“The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, 2 who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. 3 Blessed is the one who reads aloud the words of this prophecy, and blessed are those who hear it and take to heart what is written in it, because the time is near.” Revelation 1:1-3 NIV Read full chapter
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Suddenly, all the lights went out in the middle of our Sunday morning church service! If you hadn’t been paying attention, you were now. It was dark and a little scary.
Our pastor was in the middle of his sermon entitled, “We Endure Patiently” based on James 5:7-8.
“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” James 5:7-8 NIV (emphasis mine)
“As it was in the days of Noah, so it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. For in the days before the flood, people were eating and drinking, marrying and giving in marriage, up to the day Noah entered the ark; and they knew nothing about what would happen until the flood came and took them all away. That is how it will be at the coming of the Son of Man. Two men will be in the field; one will be taken and the other left. Two women will be grinding with a hand mill; one will be taken and the other left. Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.” Matthew 24:37-42 NIV (emphasis mine)
“So you also must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you do not expect him.” Matthew 24:44 NIV (emphasis mine) Read full chapter
The pastor, always ready, promptly said, “Can Unexpected Things Happen?”
I don’t know about everybody else, but God had MY attention!
I always ask the Lord to speak to me through our service. Interestingly, the thing that has been most on my mind is Jesus’ return. I recently finished reading the book of Revelation and now I am reading an excellent book, Revealing Revelation by Amir Tsarrfati.
“For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.” Titus 2:11-14 NIV (emphasis mine)
“For this world is not our home; we are looking forward to our everlasting home in heaven.” Hebrews 13:14 TLB (emphasis mine)
Jesus’ return is our blessed hope. We are to be looking forward to His return! Are we? Or are we consumed with the things of this world, never giving thought to His soon return? Jesus is coming soon, maybe sooner than you think!
Love, Cindy
Do you want to know more about Jesus? See my page Who Is Jesus?
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“He who testifies to these things says, “Yes, I am coming quickly.” Amen. Come, Lord Jesus.” Revelation 22:20 NASB Read full chapter
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“3 And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, “Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. 4 ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.” Revelation 21: 3-4 NIV
With Love, Cindy
Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?
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I was stopped in my tracks as I read the letter to the church in Ephesus (Revelation 2:1-6).
1″I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance. I know that you cannot tolerate wicked people, that you have tested those who claim to be apostles but are not, and have found them false. 3 You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary … 6You hate the practices of the Nicolaitans, which I also hate.”
It sounds like a strong church! But one thing is going to bring them down. What is it?
4 “Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first.5 Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place.”
How had they changed? What things did they stop doing?
The Amplified Bible says, “… you have left your first love [you have lost the depth of love that you first had for Me].”
When Jesus was asked, “What is the greatest commandment?” he replied,
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment.” Matthew 22:37
I began to ponder this. How do we love the Lord with all our heart, soul, and mind? Would we even know if we, like the Church at Ephesus, left our first love? I’m sure the Ephesians thought they loved the Lord with all their hearts. After all, look at all the great things they were doing. But something must have changed.
I have searched the Scriptures, prayed, and asked other Christians, seeking the answer to this question: What does it mean to love the Lord with your whole heart?
Is it an emotion? An act of our will? Obedience? Praise?
Is it possible that the Ephesians went about the activities of church life, minus the passion of one who has been forgiven? Did they forget how thankful they once were for His forgiveness and love?
I can only infer that as we go about the business of “church”, it is possible to do many good things, yet forget how we first loved Him.
Perhaps now we are busy doing (like Martha) instead of sitting at His feet (like Mary).
The importance of “loving God with all my heart” has been on my mind for several weeks. I ask myself, Do I love Jesus with all my heart? And more importantly, what does Jesus think?
I started thinking about how I show love to my children. For one thing, I tell them – a lot!. So last night I started my prayer like this:
Lord, I love you. I love you with all my heart and soul and mind. Thank you for forgiving me of my sins. I remember how on fire I was for you when I first experienced the forgiveness that “washed me white as snow” and “removed my sins “as far as the east is from the west”.
My heart was flooded with peace because the heaviness of my soul, the anguish of guilt vanished.. I remember how I devoured the Scriptures as I discovered your promises. Give me a heart like David, whose Psalms reflect his deep love for you …..
So let us think back to how we first loved Him. Let us ask ourselves, Do I tell Him that I love Him everyday? And let us ask Him to help us to never forsake the love we had at first.
Scriptures
as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us.
As a father has compassion on his children,
so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him; Psalm 103:11-13
Though your sins are like scarlet,
They shall be as white as snow;
Though they are red like crimson,
They shall be as wool. Isaiah 1:18
With Love,
Cindy
Click this link to learn more about Jesus: Who Is Jesus?
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