As a student and teacher of Bible prophecy for 35 years, it is my belief that the next event on the prophetic calendar will be the Rapture of the church, as I mentioned last week. The Rapture is the event when we will be "caught up to meet the Lord in the air" (1 Thessalonians 4:17).
The teaching of Christ's return is a real litmus test of where you are spiritually. For the person who is right with God, it motivates and purifies them. For the person who is not right with God, it frightens and alarms them.
For the believer who is watching and waiting, Christ's return is welcomed. For the person who is not where they need be spiritually, He will come as a thief.
So, in light of this hope of Christ's return, how are we to live? What are we to do as we await His return? Three things come to mind: We need to wake up, sober up, and suit up.
Paul tell us, "Therefore let us not sleep, as others do, but let us watch and be sober. For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who get drunk are drunk at night. But let us who are of the day be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love, and as a helmet the hope of salvation" (1 Thessalonians 5:6�8).
We need to wake up. The Encyclopedia Britannica defines sleep as "a state of inactivity, with a loss of consciousness and a decrease in responsiveness to events taking place." There are people in the church today who have gone to sleep. They are not watching the signs of the times, nor are they observing the "times and seasons." There is a lethargy and passiveness, even a laziness. There seems to be a disconnect between their so-called "spiritual life" and real life. Instead of "walking in the Spirit," they are sleepwalking.
What Paul is saying in this verse is "Wake up and be ready for the Lord's return!"
Remember when you were a little kid and it was so hard to fall asleep on Christmas Eve? Maybe it was the excitement of opening your presents the next day. Or perhaps it was the hope of seeing Santa Claus. But it was a joyful anticipation that kept you awake, not some kind of dread or fear.
In the same way, looking for Christ's return is not a miserable, repressive, or confining way to live. It's a happy, joyful, purposeful way to live.
Let me close with the words of C.H. Spurgeon, who said, "It is a very blessed thing to be on the watch for Christ, it is a blessing to us now. How it detaches you from the world! You can be poor without murmuring. You can be rich without worldliness. You can be sick without sorrowing. You can be healthy without presumption. If you are always waiting for Christ's coming, untold blessings are wrapped up in that glorious hope."
Wow. Just wow. I think you went overboard on that one, Ella. Seriously. Even if Chevy or Browneyedgirl's intentions were wrong, you just managed to spark one rippin' fire, and shred those two to pieces with your words. Edifying?
Ella's words mean nothing to me. I pray for her. To be completely honest, I admit I do not know her on a personal level, but just from her forum posts, I suspect there might be a medical problem..maybe the early signs of dementia? I don't say that with malice, but that perhaps others will think twice before taking her insults personally or seriously. That being said, I choose not to fan her flames; I have not read her posts since she was so mean to Joey. There's no benefit from it. No good. No fruit. I love her as a sister and if there was something I could do to help her I would/will. It's very sad to me. :(
The point I was making is that ET had asked Chevy, "so what;'s your point of edification?" and then writes, "walking away shaking my head..." She then goes on to write one of the most hateful posts I've seen on this forum, which was far removed from edifying. That's double minded. Her post in this thread was just that. As to Dementia, it can and usually does cause mood swings. Who knows?
I've been reading Ella's posts, on and off, for a couple of years. Although she's always had strong opinions, her posts have grown increasingly angry and with more personal hatred. I used to really enjoy reading her opinions. Very very sad. :(
Those, who confront Him and do not want to conform to His Truth, condemn themselves. And God condemns them: John 3:16-21
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved.
�He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil.
For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed.
But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.�
