One Day Closer

We Are One Day Closer

One day closer

Israel-Hamas War

No doubt, you’ve seen the awful headlines, but does the Israel-Hamas war signal that our generation is living in the End Times?

The disturbing images and reports on the news are horrific, including the mass murder of women, children, and the elderly.

We are witnessing blatant evil and depravity.

Reading the words of our Savior, we learn that Jesus taught His disciples about birth pains and the end times events to come.

It’s hard to miss the fact that countries are lining up against Israel, as prophesied.

But, there’s a big problem when people engage in date-setting and, in some cases, write books about specific dates.

Jesus said to His followers in Mark 13:

32 But about that day or hour no one knows, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but the Father alone.

33 “Watch out, stay alert; for you do not know when the appointed time is.Mark 13:32-33, (NASB).1

“No one knows” means exactly that –  “no one knows!

No book author, Christian preacher, false teacher, or church knows exactly when the glorious return of Jesus Christ (His Second Coming) will happen.

If God wanted us as His creation to know, He would have told us.

The Rapture hasn’t even happened yet.

The Church is still here.

Here’s what we do know for sure about God’s timing . . . we are 100% guaranteed, no question, absolutely sure that we are one day closer.

That’s it.

We are one day closer, and Jesus’ return is near – er.

Until His return, the horrific events we are witnessing in the headlines (and more to come) are the result of living in a fallen world.

The world needs Jesus!

The world needs Jesus

Photo by Elianna Gill on Unsplash

One Day Closer, But Why Don’t We Know the Date?

Why didn’t God tell us the date?

God is sovereign.

Only He knows the big picture of events – the beginning and the end.

Since we don’t know the time or date, we should always be ready.

The verse quoted above from Mark 13 is clear – in essence, “stay alert.”

On the one hand, it serves as a vivid reminder that the things of this world are temporary (cf. 2 Peter 3:11–131 John 2:15–173:2–3), and that the redeemed are citizens of an eternal kingdom that is yet to be revealed on earth when the Lord comes in glory (Phil. 3:20–21Heb. 11:16). On the other hand, it provides a compelling motivation for believers to proclaim the glorious gospel of Christ to those who are perishing, so that they might be saved from the impending judgment of God (cf. 2 Cor. 5:20–212 Peter 3:14–15).as quoted in preceptaustin.org.2

In the meantime, please pray for the release of the hostages in this brutal war.

We should also continue to pray for God’s will to be done, and that what we’re seeing on the world stage will bring the unsaved around the world to Christ.

It’s only through Jesus Christ, as His Elect, we will have eternal security and safety.

35 Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Will tribulation, or trouble, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 Just as it is written:

For Your sake we are killed all day long;
We were regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”

37 But in all these things we overwhelmingly conquer through Him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.Romans 8:35-39, (NASB).3

Come, Lord Jesus.

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Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

Precept Austin quotation is from the Mark 13 Commentary, [2023] Courtesy of Precept Austin, Subheading, “Watch For Him” Web. Accessed 21 October, 2023.

3 Scripture quotation is from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation.

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Sharing Your Faith

Sharing Your Faith

sharing your faith

Courageously Sharing Your Faith

To “share” or “not to share”, that is the question.

At least on this blog post. 🙂

Seriously though, does the idea of sharing a favorite Christian meme or Bible verse on social media give you pause?

If it does, I certainly understand.

Your “friends list” may consist of believers and unbelievers.

With that in mind, you just might get a negative reaction you didn’t expect. How should you respond?

If it were me, I would invite that unbelieving friend to take the discussion offline. It’s better to have a one-on-one conversation than to have it play out in a public forum. 

courageously sharing your faith

Why Not Be Prepared?

We have to be prepared for resistance to the true gospel message, both online and in person.

Fortunately, there are some online sources for you that are helpful.

Here are a couple of resources for you to consider:

Why not devote a portion of time each week to learning how to answer the hard questions?

You may get questions from someone like:

Why is there evil and suffering in the world? You can find the answer to that here.

Can a Christian lose his or her salvation? You can find the answer to that here.

I’m a student of Apologetics myself. I will never know all the answers, but my heart yearns to learn as much as I can. It’s an insatiable thirst.

The Courage to Share

Always use grace when sharing your faith, an encouragement well-expressed here by Christian apologist, Sean McDowell.

I hope it is helpful to you.

God bless

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