Million Dollar Question

He says Tami that we should keep our eyesopen & watch for the Lord to come!Make sure we are ready!Not wanting to sin!If God hates sin then so should we!He said he is coming like a theif in the night!People ask especially unbelievers "Why should I follow God?My question is:Why shouldnt you follow him?Is your life better off without his blessings?

1) Persecution: When persecution comes our way we often act surprised and crushed. But it is a reality of the Christian walk. It will only increase before the Day of the Lord.

2) Know Christ's Words: Christ revealed how he will be made known at the end of all times. It is important to know these words so as not to be deceived by those who would lead us astray. If people say something is of Christ it should be checked against what He has already revealed.

3) Readiness: There is a strain throughout this whole chapter that focuses on keeping watch and being ready. Any day is when the Lord could come. Each day is a blessing and should be lived in anticipation of the coming of our Lord.

Tami

I would want to respond by asking a question of you. I understand that there will be false prophets and that we obviously must know God's truth, which is contained in the Bible. Christ says in Mat.24:11 .."and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people". How can we know the false prophets? I do believe that many people are presently being misled by false teaching. How will we know the truth. In Eastern Europe and other parts of the world people are being persecuted for their Christian belief Mat.24:9, there are earthquakes and famines Mat. 24:7. Crime and sexual immorality is ever incresing, Mat. 24:12. In addition there are many wars being fought, Mat.24:7.It is obvious that the end is near.
How can we know the true teachers, how can we know the true prophets, how can we know which doctrine is right?
Christ says, "..but he who stands firm to the end will be saved."
How can we be saved? I do believe that we must stick to the correct teachings in order to be saved, but how will we know what this is? I will continue in my faith and proclaim God as father and master.

We need to be Bareans. We need to be prepared for His soon coming. Pray in His Holy Spirit continually. Be aware of the presence of God every minute. Jesus is the Way The Truth and The Life. He who believes in Him will never die. We are gentiles. We do not need to do all the Jews had to do. But because of His love for us we live in Him, through Him and for Him. Beware of the easy way it most likely will lead to a broad path to destruction. We can rest in Him and cast all our cares on Him. This world offers many temptation. I pray that I/we will know the difference between God's Will and temptations from the evil one.

Matthew 24 and 25 are are absolutely fascinating to read. Just one of my favorite sections of the Gospel. Jesus gives us so much tantalizing information on how to prepare and be ready for the end times, and the signs that will herald it. I never tire of reading it. As Jesus tells us, the most important thing for us is vigilance. We must keep vigil, and be ready at all times, by leading a pure and holy life, walking in all his ways; for we know not the hour when he comes.

As chaotic as things may be in the world, and at times - in our own lives; taking this passage to heart brings comfort. The Lord has a plan for our lives, and the world, and works all things out accordingly. We need to trust Him more, and more!

one thing that Jesus said over and over is " be watchful ". these versus give the warning of MANY false teachers and false christs. i need to live grounded in His word and praying so when i see these miracles that are not from the Lord i will know . i heard it said once if a fake jesus appeared how would you know ? check and see if your feet are still on the ground... 1 Thessalonians 4- 17"After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. 18Therefore encourage each other with these words"... my kids often ask when too. it's interesting in 1 Thessalonians 5 3While people are saying, "Peace and safety," destruction will come on them suddenly, as labor pains on a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. i've told them when there is a big peace treaty or something like that LOOK UP !!!!

We need to stand firm in what the Bible teaches. Check out what the teachers say with the Word of God. If there is a discrepancy - then you know that what is being taught is not right. In this chapter I found that the false teachers were said to be somewhere on earth. Jesus said that He would be returning on the clouds of Heaven - up, not on our level. (Rather a significant fact in many ways - God's ways are not our ways, being one of them!)I also take comfort in having been told what will happen - and not to fear, the time will be short for our sakes.

Thank you soooo much, Tami, for being the vessel that God has called you to be.

I was part of an amazing bible study for 8 years. It caused me to really study pieces of scripture. It was a 7 year study, which encouraged us to use it as a lifetime of ministry. It had 6 days of questions, which could be very intense, but Day One was usually the only day that asked questions that were applications for life. I didn't realize I was becoming a Pharisee. Because I began to know God's word, but I didn't necessarily apply it.

When I started this study with you guys, I could see how important it was to really apply what you were asking me, even it was painful. It has made such a difference. I'm still applying Phil 2:14 from when we were doing Philippians a few weeks ago and I added 1 Thes 5:16... Wow these verses have been convicting, powerful and life changing!! I've come to realize that God doesn't waste a word! When He uses words like "all", "everything", or "always" it is always for a reason and He rarely gives a preface to it. So, "be joyful always" NIV, and "do everything with complaining or arguing"NIV and "everything should be done in a fitting and orderly way"NIV takes on a completely different meaning now. While I thought I understood the power of God's word, I'm really seeing and living the power of God's word. May this bless you as much as it has blessed me! And Leo, I put that prayer request into my church prayer band and they are praying for you still.
Godspeed.

Of course, Mat.24 causes me to dwell on my readiness, which leads to: what will Jesus find me doing when He returns? Will I be doing something, anything at all, to win a lost soul, or to lift up a Christian who is feeling down? The Scriptures teach there is a crown for those who are loving His appearing! I so look forward to receiving that crown and casting it at the Saviour's feet.

Well, even Jesus doesn't know when He's coming back, but He gave us Himself as an amazing example and left us the bible that has everything for life and godliness. And He has given each of us something to do until He comes back. It's time for me to get busy with His "To Do" list for me.

Luminmary, you're right, we do need to be more like the Bereans who examined the scriptures daily to see if Paul was biblically correct. We have to continue to talk about Jesus every day with each other and our families and hold each other accountable, because iron sharpens iron. We also have to hide God's word in our heart, so that we may not sin against Him. His Word does say He'll be coming on the clouds...not in the desert or anything on ground level. I think that His coming will be sooo spectacular that NO ONE who is alive will miss it.

Eglon, it is by grace that one is saved. Because we believe that Jesus was crucified, died, was buried and rose again for every single one of us, it is because of WHO we believe in that we are saved. We can't DO anything to be saved, we have to just BELIEVE it! And not doubt it. Because in James 1, it says that if you ask for wisdom, it will be given to you, but you must not doubt.

Everyone, thanks for encouraging others who are reading this, it will give them much food for thought. You are and will be a blessing to many.

Eglon,
Just a thought that might help. Any body or any religion that does not accept that Jesus is the one and only Son of God, who died for our sin, and rose from the dead is wrong. We might disagree a little bit about other issues, but we cannot get around the fact that Jesus is the Son of God and our salvation comes from Him.
A couple of thoughts that came to me while I was reading the passage:
1. Thinking of persecution and Revelation - John was being persecuted, but God used that for His glory. John was able to write Revelation under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit on the island of Patmos.
2. As many others mentioned already- in the passage it talks about false prophets and false Christs twice. We better know our Bible correctly and well.
Thanks for your comments everyone. I always learn from them.

Eglon,

Thanks for your questions/comments. I asked our Biblical Correspondence area to respond. So please see below. Have a great day! Tami W.

False prophets are those who claim to have "new revelation" from God. This is more than simply disagreeing on an interpretation. Anyone who declares that he or she has a "word" from God should be suspect. If that "word" is not found in the Word, that person is a false prophet. The key is knowing the Bible thoroughly and taking everything we are told back to that Word. As Paul said of the Bereans, "Now these were more noble-minded than those in Thessalonica, for they received the word with great eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily, to see whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). As the end draws closer, we need even more to follow their example.

Matthew 24:13 ("But the one who endures to the end, he shall be saved.") is in the context of the Tribulation period. The "shall be saved" is not referring to personal salvation. Instead, Christ is saying that those who become believers during this terrible time and stick to their faith in spite of persecution will be delivered when He returns.

Allen, Biblical Correspondent at Back to the Bible