What Do You Fear?

Through the years I have said, and prayed..."Oh God, PLEASE don't let me be deceived!"  I have also heard others voice their fear of "being deceived."  

The other day I was reading my Bible and I saw something I hadn't "seen" before.  The more I think about it, the bigger this subject gets.  Here is the scripture that caught my attention.  Oh yes, I've heard it preached all of my life, and I've read it numerous times, but this time it spoke to me in a different way.  

"But be ye doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving your own selves." (James 1:22 KJV)

Here is the Amplified version:

"But be doers of the Word [obey the message], and not merely listeners to it, betraying yourselves [into deception by reasoning contrary to the Truth]. (James 1:22 AMP) 

This scripture spoke volumes to me.  In the last days when many are "being deceived" we must stop and take inventory of our own hearts and make sure we have an "obedient spirit." If we do, and we're walking with the Lord like we should be...if we're praying, being faithful, and obeying the Word that is preached by a "Truth preaching preacher," there is no way for satan to deceive us.  He is not powerful enough to walk into the heart of a Holy Ghost filled child of God and destroy them!  

The following is a quote from Pastor Mark Foster that struck a chord in my heart...

"It is inconceivable to think the same spirit that raised Jesus from the dead would come into our lives and do nothing." 

The power of God is greater than the schemes of satan!  Be obedient to God's Word and satan has no power in your life!  After all, Jesus used the Word against satan, and satan was DEFEATED!

In all of my simple thinking, I came to this conclusion...Born again, children of God do not need to walk through life being afraid of the "spirit of deception jumping on them."  What we should fear is our own carnal mind that wants us to "intentionally reason contrary to the Truth." Those who "reason contrary to the Truth" will go on their way as if they never heard Truth, fulfilling the lusts of the flesh.  That person is then set up for deception to invade their heart and mind, and if they do not come to their senses, they'll never know they have been "deceived!"  Now that's something to fear.  

Stay alert child of God!  Be obedient to the Word of God!  Save yourself from this world by dying to your flesh!  Crave the things of God!  Walk in the Spirit!  Keep yourself unspotted from the world!  Jesus is coming back for His bride, so be ready!   

When I go to prayer I want my heart to be open:

"Dear Lord,  please look deep into my heart and walk into every corner and cleanse me from anything that is not pleasing to You.  Help me to see "me" like YOU see me.  I want to be obedient to Your Word, and act upon it...lest I deceive myself into thinking that I'm alright when I'm not, and be lost because of my own negligence and self will.  Help me to be a doer of the Word and not just hear it.  In Jesus Name!"

Behold He Comes

You're in your car driving home and your thoughts wander to "what you want to do when you arrive home", when suddenly a sound unlike any you've ever heard fills the air. The sound is high above you. A trumpet? A choir? A choir of trumpets? You don't know, but you want to know...

So you pull over, get out of your car, and look up. As you do, you see you aren't the only curious one. The roadside has become a parking lot. Car doors are open and people are staring at the sky. Shoppers are racing out of the grocery store.

The Little League baseball game across the street has come to a halt. Players and parent's are searching the clouds. And what they see, and what you see, has never before been seen.

As if the sky were a curtain, the drapes of the atmosphere part. A brilliant light spills onto the earth. There are no shadows. None!

From every hue ever seen and a million more never seen, riding on the flow is an endless fleet of angels. They pass through the curtains one myriad at a time, until they occupy every square inch of the sky.

North…South….East….West….

Thousands of silvery wings rise and fall in unison, and over the sound of the trumpets you can hear the cherubim and seraphim chanting, Holy, Holy, Holy! The final flank of angels is followed by twenty-four silver-bearded elders and a multitude of souls who join the angels in worship.

Suddenly, the heavens are quiet. All is quiet. The angels turn, you turn, the entire world turns and there He is....JESUS!

Through waves of light you see the silhouetted figure of Christ the King. He is atop a great stallion, and the stallion is atop a billowing cloud. He opens his mouth, and you are surrounded by his declaration:

"I am the Alpha and the Omega!"

The angels bow their heads...the elders remove their crowns...and before you is a Figure so consuming that you know...instantly you know: Nothing else matters. Forget stock markets and school reports, sales meetings and football games. Nothing is newsworthy. All that mattered...matters no more....

For Christ has come!

I received this email from a friend today. I know this is someone's way of trying to explain how His return will be. No one really knows how it will actually be when Jesus appears in the sky, but I got excited just thinking about when He comes...and HE WILL COME! This is OUR HOPE!

Are YOU ready?