Tag: Jeremiah 17:9

Any Day Now – Day 38

On May 29, 2024

I’ve always felt excited about the end times, but I know people who are apprehensive about what is about to happen. One must ask oneself, am I apprehensive because I’m not 100% I’m going to Heaven, or because I love life and am not ready to give it up? Only you can answer this. Are you 100% certain that if you were to die in your sleep tonight, that you would go to Heaven? If you are not 100% certain, please go here and read through it. It will open in a new tab. Then come back to this tab and let’s continue.

Once the Millennium comes to an end, Satan will be loosed from the bottomless pit for a short period. He will once again come against Israel only to be defeated once and for all. Those who have died without Christ from the beginning of time will not rise just yet. Their time will come to be judged at the Great White Throne Judgment.

Rev 20:1-10 And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. (2) And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, (3) And cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled: and after that he must be loosed a little season. (4) And I saw thrones, and they sat upon them, and judgment was given unto them: and I saw the souls of them that were beheaded for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and which had not worshipped the beast, neither his image, neither had received his mark upon their foreheads, or in their hands; and they lived and reigned with Christ a thousand years. (5) But the rest of the dead lived not again until the thousand years were finished. This is the first resurrection. (6) Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years. (7) And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, ( 8 ) And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. (9) And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. (10) And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.

Let’s take a look at the defeat of Satan, the Lake of Fire, and the Great White Throne. This is where everything comes to a halt for the devil, and he finally receives his just desserts. We are introduced to him in the Garden of Eden, and he will end his earthly reign of wickedness in today’s verses! Please, this is a longer than usual post, but it is packed with information that is vitally important. I ask for your patience as well as grace. You won’t regret it! 😊

For 1,000 years Satan has been under lock and key “in the bottomless pit.” During this time frame, people will be living longer on a beautiful earth similar to the Garden of Eden. They will be having children, and everyone will still be born with a sinful nature. Although there won’t be Satan’s influence, sin will be in people’s heart. Satan will be released so people will have to make a choice between Jesus and Satan; even though they will be living under the rule of Jesus in a perfect world! After 1,000 years in the bottomless pit, Satan has had a lot of time to plan his last-ditch effort of destroying Christ.

We read in Revelation 20:8 that all the nations will be deceived by him from the four corners of the earth, having the spirit of Gog and Magog. He will be inciting nations (numbered as the sands of the sea) to rebel. Once they go to advance against Israel, God breaths out fire! It doesn’t say how long “a little season” will be (Revelation 20:3). But we do know that it’s long enough to gather the world together to go against King Jesus!

The heart is deceitful even in a perfect society (Jeremiah 17:9)! The nations will abandon all that to follow Satan! Can you believe it? After living in a perfect world where the Lord Jesus Christ is reigning, how can there be people that will turn away to join the enemy’s armies? Here is what we can learn from the release of Satan after a thousand years:

The heart is depraved
Satan is powerfully deceptive to lure people away from a “perfect” world
God is just in His judgments

FINALLY, we see in Revelation 20:10 that the devil is cast into the Lake of Fire for all eternity. He was only put into the bottomless pit, if you recall. But notice that the Antichrist and the False Prophet have already been cast alive into the Lake of Fire (see Revelation 19:20). The end of Revelation 20:10 tells us that they all will be tormented day and night for ever and ever!!!! It’s not just them but ALL who enter the Lake of Fire. Their future is to be tormented day and night for ever and ever!

We must remember that the Lake of Fire is not Hell. It is referred to eleven times in the gospels. The Bible tells us that all of the unsaved people are kept in a place called Hell until the Millennium Kingdom is over. Hell is a temporary place of torment where these souls are kept until they have to appear before God for the final White Throne judgment. This judgment will then determine their eternal fate once and for all. Books will be opened which will contain everything they ever did and spoke. It will reveal every time the Gospel was presented to them, yet they still refused it. They will be without excuse. (Romans 1:20) Then Jesus will look in the Book of Life and will tell them that their names are not found in it. This Book determines their future. When a person is born again, his name appears in this book! If a person dies without Christ, his name is removed (Revelation 3:5).

Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Any Day Now – Day 26

By Kate Plourde

On April 29, 2024

In Any Day Now, Devotionals

Mat 24:7-8 For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. ( 8 ) All these are the beginning of sorrows.

I thought I would share some facts which are an indication to the end times. I subscribe to an app that alerts me any time there is an earthquake that is greater than a 5.0 on the Richter Scale. Why you may ask? A message covering the Rapture and the end times is what drew me to the Lord! I’ve been excited about any topic dealing with the end times ever since! So let’s proceed.

Jesus’ message above mentioned that increased earthquakes would be indicative that we were in the end times. He mentioned that all these things listed in verse 7 are the “beginning of sorrows.” The New Testament was originally written in Greek and they can have several words for one word that we use in the English language. For example, the word “sorrows” in verse 8 according to the Greek is:

ōdin
o-deen’
Akin to G3601; a pang or throe, especially of childbirth: – pain, sorrow, travail.STRONG’S CONCORDANCE

That Greek word tells us that when we see these increased famines, pestilences and earthquakes, it will be like having birth pains. Review the chart above. We can truly see these “birth pains” in today’s picture of earthquakes from the year 2000 through 2020 with a rating above a 5.0 rating on the Richter Scale. You can also see from 2004 to 2011, earthquakes rose significantly. Beginning in 2012, they decreased but they were still higher than the years prior 2011. This is exactly like labor pains. The pains get stronger and closer together.

The USGS states that there were three major earthquakes (greater than 6.0) in 1900. One hundred years later, in 2000, USGS recorded 160. This is more than 150 major quakes than in 1900. Between 1900 to 1918, USGS recorded 147 major quakes. This is 13 less jolts than the 160 recorded in 2000. Between 2000 to 2018, the USGS has already recorded 2,911 major quakes so far. This is an incredible 2,764 more tremors than between 1900 to 1918. And you can’t even load the map on the USGS website! Between 1900 to 1918, the yearly average number of major quakes was 12. Since 2000, this number has risen to 243/year.
HTTPS://STRANGESOUNDS.ORG/2018/11/MAJOR-EARTHQUAKE-INCREASE-DRAMATICALLY.HTML

This is just one of the three items mentioned in today’s Bible verse. I’m sure if we were to research the other two, we would find similar results. The fact that these three events will increase in frequency and intensity reveals to us that we are in fact in the end times. There’s no need to be scared for the born-again believer. It’s an exciting time for us to be alive actually. It means that we won’t die a physical death but be raptured! Do you realize how wonderful that is for the believer???? Imagine not dying!

A loving God has given us prophecy to encourage us, not to scare His children or discourage them. For the unsaved however, it should scare them. Today in 2024, we are seeing so many earthquakes on a daily basis. We are seeing the rise of volcanic activity as well. Storms of epic proportions are flooding areas like Australia and countries in Africa where they get a year’s worth of rain in one storm! I could go on and on. The unbelieving world attributes these events to global warming. But if you research the science, the earth goes through warming periods and cooling periods on a regular basis. They just want to scare you into submission to their agenda, which will result in the one-world government and one-world church. Have you noticed how many churches are now involved in global warming and their “love” for the earth? They will do anything to distract people from searching out the Lord God.

Rom 1:25 Who changed the truth of God into a lie, and worshipped and served the creature more than the Creator, who is blessed for ever. Amen.

The heart of man does not naturally seek out the things of God, reader. They follow the band wagon and then they are convinced to hop on. Today, we are seeing a rise in antisemitism and it is quite sad. In Hitler’s time, it affected that part of the world. But today, it is all over the world. This is the segue that will lead us to the Tribulation. Countries will turn against Israel, which will usher in war and the forthcoming peace treaty that the Antichrist will sign with Israel. (Daniel 9:27) All these stem from wicked hearts, reader!

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

Does this excite you, reader? It surely does me! But to the one who is not saved, it is a different story. Friend, it is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab to You Can Be Born Again and Know It!

Hymns 2.0 – Turn Your Eyes Upon Jesus

By Kate Plourde

On October 20, 2023

In Devotionals, Hymns 2.0

Lyrics (click here to hear instrumental)

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Refrain:
Turn your eyes upon Jesus,
Look full in His wonderful face,
And the things of earth will grow strangely dim,
In the light of His glory and grace.

Thro’ death into life everlasting,
He passed, and we follow Him there;
O’er us sin no more hath dominion–
For more than conqu’rors we are!

His Word shall not fail you–He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!
Helen Lemmel

The History Behind the Hymn

Few know, however, this call to fix your eyes on Christ was given by a blind woman!

Born in 1864, Helen Lemmel moved to the United States around the age of twelve. From a young age, her musical ability was noticed by all those around her.

In 1907, She moved to Germany for 4 years to undergo intensive music training. It was here that she would meet her husband. Together, they returned to the United States in 1911. While in America, she served faithfully in the Lord’s work. She dedicated herself to writing, arranging, and teaching songs and hymns of the faith

A few years after her marriage, a tragic illness caused her to lose her vision. Her husband, refusing to attend to a blind wife, left her. This time of hurt and loss weighed heavily upon Helen.

Then, in 1918, Lemmel was introduced to a pamphlet written by Algerian missionary Lilias Trotter. Trotter was a well-known artist who had given up a rising and lucrative career to serve the Lord on the mission field. Her words stirred the heart of Lemmel. She writes, “Suddenly, as if commanded to stop and listen, I stood still, and, singing in my soul and spirit was the chorus, with not one conscious moment of putting word to word to make rhyme, or note to note to make melody…These verses were written…the same week…”

The words that so captivated Helen were these: “How do we bring things to a focus in the world of optics? Not by looking at the things to be dropped, but by looking at the one point that is to be brought out. Turn full your soul’s vision to Jesus, and look…look at Him, and a strange dimness will come over all that is apart from Him, and the Divine “attrait” by which God’s saints are made…will lay hold of you. For “He is worthy” to have all there is to be had in the heart that He has died to win.”

Helen kept her eyes on the Lord Jesus and continued to serve Him faithfully. She would lead a women’s choral group for many of the Billy Sunday outreaches, teach music at the Moody Bible Institute, and pen over 400 hymns! Her life is a stirring challenge to us all. Hence, it may be said that although blind, her spiritual sight has challenged those of us who can see to keep our eyes fixed on Christ.
https://enjoyingthejourney.org/hymn-history-turn-your-eyes-upon-jesus/

A Lesson for Me

Act 26:18 To open their eyes, and to turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of sins, and inheritance among them which are sanctified by faith that is in me.

Consider your walk on this earth as a journey in total darkness. Your steps are uncertain and you must feel your way in order not to stumble. Along your journey, you find a flashlight and turn it on! All of a sudden, things are made clearer! The uncertainties of what lies ahead is not so unsettling, is it?

O soul, are you weary and troubled?
No light in the darkness you see?
There’s light for a look at the Savior,
And life more abundant and free!

Message for today

Jesus said He is the light of the world in John 8:12. Today’s hymn depicts this beautifully! It reveals to us that the Saviour, Jesus Christ, is a light in the darkness. But what darkness?

The human heart is filled with wickedness.

Jer 17:9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?

One only has to create a check list of the Ten Commandments and put a checkmark next to each commandment one has broken to discover that Jeremiah had it right.

Jesus says that He is the light of the world. The light of His Gospel reveals to us that He is the Son of God – He is God; He came for one purpose and that was to save us from our sins. He wants to shine truth and salvation into our hearts so we can plainly see our sins and admit we need a Saviour. (John 3:16, John 1:1)

Heb 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

Eph 2:8-9 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: (9) Not of works, lest any man should boast.

Every person must realize that there is no way to receive God’s peace through one’s own merit. The light of the Gospel now begins to shine in man’s heart and he looks to God’s Word for redemption. Jesus took our sins and nailed them to the cross because God knew that man could not earn or work his way to Heaven.

Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Once one recognizes and confesses his own sin and accepts Christ’s redeeming work on the cross, he is born again. A new life is given and that soul is no longer walking in darkness but in the light of the Word of God.

God’s Word will never fail you. Now tell someone else about what God has done for you!

His Word shall not fail you–He promised;
Believe Him, and all will be well:
Then go to a world that is dying,
His perfect salvation to tell!

If you are not truly born-again, there is coming a time when it will be too late for you to repent and be saved. It is no coincidence that God has placed you here for such a time as this so that you may be saved if you are not already. Please click here and the link will open up in a separate tab You Can Be Born Again and Know It!