Wednesday, Jul 15, 2009

7-14 The Beginning of Sorrows

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“At the same time, we must also remember that no amount of success at work can compensate for failure at home.” Grab the book nearest you. Turn to page 56. Find the fifth sentence. Post it to Facebook… that’s a trivial request my Niece Elizabeth made on Facebook. Why not? And the quote? It is from the book “Ten Secrets for the Man in the Mirror” by Patrick Morley. Work definitely keeps us busy, but we need to be balanced. Life is much better when our work life is rewarding and our home life is harmonious and satisfying. I love to come home do you? My dear wife is always there for me. Love it. Now my home life is not perfect, but we’re working on it. How about you?

Today's Scripture reading is 1 Kings 1:28-52; Haggai 2; Luke 10:1-24
To Listen to Today’s Reading http://timewithgod.mypodcast.com - Archives can be found at http://timewithgod.podbean.com

Today’s thought comes from Matthew 24: 3 Now as He sat on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to Him privately, saying, "Tell us, when will these things be? And what will be the sign of Your coming, and of the end of the age?" 4 And Jesus answered and said to them: "Take heed that no one deceives you. 5 "For many will come in My name, saying, ‘I am the Christ,’ and will deceive many. 6 "And you will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you are not troubled; for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7 "For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. And there will be famines, pestilences, and earthquakes in various places. 8 "All these are the beginning of sorrows.

“The Beginning of Sorrows…” it sounds like the name of a tragic movie. Life is going ordinarily well until one morning the star of our movie wakes up to sobering news on the radio: There’s been a string of tragedies during the night and the world is in chaos. He turns over and his wife is gone, vanished into the night. He makes a few frantic phone calls only to get a busy signal. Panic-stricken, he lurches outside to search for her. Even on his quiet middle class neighborhood street, traffic is snarled due to a series of car accidents. A home down the way is on fire. Sirens are everywhere. Marshal Law has been declared. The stock market takes the biggest plunge ever. The world is in chaos… and this is just the beginning of sorrows! It gets worse from here on! Jesus mentioned several catastrophic events that will occur during the “beginning of sorrows” each seemingly worse than the last. They have many similarities to the six seal judgments of Revelation 6. 1st Seal = White Horse -false Christs (Matthew 24:5). 2nd Seal = Red Horse – wars (24:6). 3rd Seal = Black Horse – Famine (24:7). 4th Seal = Pale Horse – death & destruction (24:7). 5th Seal – Persecution of Saints (24:9). 6th Seal - Global Chaos (24:12). These events take up the first three and one half years of Daniel’s 70th Week. Why do we say that? Daniel tells us that at the beginning of the Week, the Antichrist will make a seven year covenant with the nation of Israel, but in the middle of the Week, he will break the covenant and set up the abomination of desolation in the Temple (Daniel 9:27). Jesus quoted Daniel in Matthew 15 and noted, when it happens, “then there will be Great Tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be” (24:20). What’s the worse tribulation the world has ever seen? Masada? The Holocaust? The Killing Fields? This will be worse than anything you’ve ever seen. That’s why we say “The Beginning of Sorrows” = 3 & ½ years and “The Great Tribulation” = 3 & ½ years. Judgment day is coming. This old earth will face it’s most serious challenges ever before Christ returns.

Dear Father. Shelter us in The Rock. We don’t know when these things will happen, and honestly we don’t want them to shake our personal world. So help us be prepared by living for you and by sharing the good news that Jesus saves and delivers. Everyone needs to hear the message. May I be a channel of hope.

If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me

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