Daily Devotions

"And Jesus answering them began to say, Take heed lest any man deceive you: For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. And when ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars, be ye not troubled: for such things must needs be; but the end shall not be yet. For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be earthquakes in divers places, and there shall be famines and troubles: these are the beginnings of sorrows. But take heed to yourselves: for they shall deliver you up to councils; and in the synagogues ye shall be beaten: and ye shall be brought before rulers and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them. And the gospel must first be published among all nations." Mark 13:5-10

We find this is a constant warning ~ a warning against false Christs. There is only One Jesus Christ that will be returning for His church one day very soon! The Jesus of the Bible was virgin born, performed miracles while He walked on this earth, and shed His blood for the sins of the world! He was raised bodily from the grave which could not possibly hold Him, ascended into heaven and IS COMING AGAIN VERY SOON! That is what the Bible says, and the Bible contains the only documents of a historical nature concerning Him. The Bible contains and claims all these great cardinal facts of the faith. And any other Christ outside of the Bible whose foot is upon this land, is antichrist. Listen to the apostle John: "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time" (1John 2:18). There are alot of antichrists around ~our Lord did well to warn us about that. And then wars, like false Christs, characterize the whole age. Believers should not be disturbed by wars. They are not the sign of the end of age. Neither antichrists nor wars indicate that we are at the end of age. "Antichrists is not in reference to the Antichrist, although all of these false christs are pointing to him, the final Antichrist!

The Bible tells us that troubles and famines would come. May you look at our nation ~ look at world hunger! It is interesting that this Book, which so many have despised, is so accurate about it all! Several years ago men thought science would solve the problems of the world (and they are still looking for solutions through revolution tactics!). But we must realize that it has made more problems that now neither science nor the world can fix. Bernard Shaw once said, "The science to which I pinned my faith has failed, and you are beholding an atheist who has lost his faith." What a tragedy! When will people wake up and realize there is only One Master builder ~ One Carpenter ~ One we can trust ~ and One to put our faith in? Jesus Christ! He is the Only One!

"And the gospel must first be published among all nations." The gospel of the kingdom I believe is also the gospel of grace. All salvation is by the grace of God, and God has never had but one way to save sinners and that is by the blood of Jesus Christ. But the gospel of the kingdom will emphasize "Repent for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." In other words, church, "HE IS COMING!" And when they say this in that day, it will be in the Great Tribulation Period, and it will be accurate!

Application:
Christ will return on God's timetable, not ours. Jesus predicted that before His return, many believers would be misled by false teachers. Beware of these false prophets. According to the Scriptures, one clear sign of Christ's return will be His unmistakable appearance in the clouds, which will be seen by all people. In other words, you need not wonder who is the Messiah or whether these are end times we are living in. When Jesus returns, you will know beyond a doubt, because it will be evident to all true believers. May God Bless you as you remain bold in your total commitment to Christ, with your heart and life ready for His return.

Love in Christ,
Sandy