Prepare for Judging Prophecies

Prepare for Judging Prophecies

Endnotes

[i] Pride (in us) tries to find the answer to life’s challenges in us; humility casts all cares on the One who wants to help us: Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 1 Peter 5:6-7

[ii] This promise is given numerous times in scripture. The Lord wants us to know His help is always available to anyone who calls on Him for anything—lavishly available (“bestowing His riches”). For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him: For "everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved." Romans 10:12-13

[iii] Thus says the LORD of hosts: "Do not listen to the words of the prophets who prophesy to you, filling you with vain hopes. They speak visions of their own minds, not from the mouth of the LORD. They say continually to those who despise the word of the LORD, 'It shall be well with you'; and to everyone who stubbornly follows his own heart, they say, 'No disaster shall come upon you.'" Jeremiah 23:16-17

[iv] Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. John 15:4-5

Details: Written by Super User; Category: Prepare; Published: April 10 2019; Hits: 5567

Prepare to Join the Rescue

Possibly, everyone’s first thought about the Last Days is how to either avoid or survive the Tribulation. Then, we may shift our focus to the lovely reality of Jesus being down here with us. Concern for the Great Harvest at the end of the age might be low on a lot of lists. We can be sure, however, that it’s high on the Lord’s. In fact, we’re told that the Lord is delaying His Return into order to save as many as possible before things come to a screeching halt. No one will make it through the Tribulation by trying to save themselves alone. Heartily joining this colossal, divine effort to save others is the way forward. Get ready for that now.

The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

All scripture citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.

End Times Challenge

A crisis brings out the best in people and the worst. Some adopt the (not good) idea that it’s “every man for himself.” Others become true heroes. How can we prepare to be heroic?

Bridal Response

Step 1. Pray!

This must be repeated with every new challenge, because our usual reaction is to look to past experience and our abilities and say, “No way!” or try slugging it out bravely in our own strength. We all-too-easily forget that our strength is in Him, our hope is in Him—not in ourselves. So, if the Holy Spirit is making us aware (waking us up) to a fresh challenge, then the first thing the Lord wants us to do is cast that care on Jesus, because He cares for us enough to help us with it.[i] Pray, therefore, until fear and doubt fall away. Jesus is willing and able to help us with anything, that’s why He guarantees in scripture that if we call on Him, He will rescue/save/help us every time.[ii] How much do you have to call? Cry out in prayer until you receive confidence that He has heard you and the help is on the way.

Step 2. Love the Lost!

If all we truly care about is ourselves (and our small circle of loved ones), then that’s all we’ll care about. The terrible times that are coming will expose this as sin and refuse to reward it. According to Jesus, this kind of self-centered attempt to save our lives will guarantee our doom instead. Right after commanding us to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow Him (even through tough times), He sternly warned us that “whoever would save his life will lose it.”[iii] There simply is no safe way through these times except by becoming truly and fully Christian in our whole outlook. Even then, physical safety is not guaranteed, but if we seek first the King and His Kingdom, many of the other things we care about “will be added” to us.[iv]

One of the best ways to “seek first the kingdom of God” is to seek its advance upon the earth. Extending His kingdom’s reach is what Jesus is after.[v] He wants to save as many souls as He can before the Tribulation begins. Then, His plan is to work through those saved souls (that’s all of us) to save many more during the Tribulation. This is the Great Harvest at the End of the Age that He told us about through the parable in Matthew 13. His eyes have been on it for a long time! It’s time we resolutely got our eyes on it, too. There is nothing like having a purpose larger than oneself to make a person willing to sacrifice and fight for a good cause. If you don’t have a heart for the lost, repent for deadening the heart He gave you and pray that He will help you love the lost as He loves them. You need this as much as they need you to have it.

Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest." Matthew 9:37-38

Next Way to Prepare

Prepare by Prayer and Fasting From the teaching of Jesus about casting out spirits, we know that prayer and fasting are at times essential elements of spiritual power. We see this same dynamic combination taking place in the Early Church when they needed clear direction from the Lord. We will need both supernatural power and divine guidance, perhaps like never before, as we seek to navigate the treacherous currents of the dark days ahead. Indeed, from a certain perspective the Last Days are an impassioned prayer movement (“Come, Lord Jesus”) fueled by the power of an imposed fast—as famines sweep the earth. Practice now for what will be perfected later.

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Prepare to Join the Rescue

Endnotes

[iii] And he said to all, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? Luke 9:23-25

[iv] But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. "Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow, for tomorrow will be anxious for itself. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble. Matthew 6:33-34

[v] The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance. 2 Peter 3:9

Details: Written by Super User; Category: Prepare; Published: April 10 2019; Hits: 5134

Is Prepping Biblical?

What kind of question is this? The greatest preppers of all time are in the Bible. Not only are they praised for prepping, but in certain outstanding cases it was the Lord God who ordered them to do it. Noah and Joseph should come immediately to mind and settle this question for one and all. If it is more “spiritual” to just trust the Lord, then why isn’t that what the Lord told those two to do? Are we more spiritual than those giants of the faith?

"Then the kingdom of heaven will be like ten virgins who took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. For when the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them, but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. Matthew 25:1-4

All scripture citations are from the English Standard Version (ESV) unless otherwise noted.

Biblical Heroes

Noah is a perfect example for us. He was facing a world-wide flood of judgment coming his way. We are too. What he did under the Lord’s specific guidance and direction is the stuff of legends. His prepping for the impending disaster not only saved his life and his family’s life, it saved humanity! Not only that, but all life on earth was replenished through what he did by bringing the animals onto the ark. Even better, without the seed of the woman persevered through his lineage, there could have been no Messiah and no future salvation coming to anyone. Thank God Noah was a prepper!

Joseph was too. His prepping also preserved the seed through which the Savior would come and Israel, the nation which would raise and recognize Him. Even so, much of Joseph’s prepping wasn’t with any of this in mind, as it would have been for Noah. Joseph was simply working in a sensible way in a foreign nation—and a thoroughly pagan nation at that. Yet, God gave Joseph a dream so that Joseph could be freed from prison and placed in charge of Egypt’s affairs, second only to Pharaoh. Why? Because Joseph’s ideas for how to prepare for the impending disaster—storing food—would save Egypt. Saving Israel was in no one’s mind at the time. Only the Lord’s. Thank God that Joseph didn’t think it beneath him to do a little righteous prepping!

Everyone knows the parable Jesus told about the wise and foolish virgins quoted above. This is set in the context of the End Times, the very times that we are talking about. The foolish virgins earned their nickname because they foolishly didn’t stay prepared for the expected arrival of the bridegroom. They didn’t have oil—the basic commodity they needed to keep their lamps burning. We can spiritualize this all we may want, but it is a clear tale of physical preparation. The wise virgins weren’t storing food as Joseph had, but they were keeping sufficient quantities of fuel on hand. Our expected Bridegroom, Jesus, praised them for doing so.

One unsung prepping hero shows up in an unexpected way in the feeding of the five thousand. Recall that the disciples were completely unprepared and thrown into confusion, if not panic. They weren’t being spiritual by being unprepared. They weren’t even prepared to believe Jesus for a miracle. One boy, however, had been prepped by his mom. She alone looked ahead and thought it would be a good idea to send her son with plenty to eat—just in case. She didn’t do a lot of prepping, but what she did was what Jesus needed someone to do. It was the seed from which He grew a miracle.

Is prepping Biblical? Of course, it is!

Next Way to Prepare

Prepare to Go through It If you have ever seen someone experience the sudden, unexpected death of a loved one, then you know that there is a lot to being mentally and emotionally prepared. You can brace yourself. That’s why it is usually such a mercy to the ones left behind, if there was the sort of illness that prepared them for the inevitable letting go. Going through grief is hard, but if it catches you suddenly and unprepared it can sweep you off your feet. Surely, this is a major reason why the Lord has given us so much advance warning about the times to come.

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Prepare to Meet Him

Details: Written by Super User; Category: Prepare; Published: April 09 2019; Hits: 10683

Preparing for the Last Days

Jesus talked a lot about watching and being prepared for the events of the Last Days. Ok, so how do you do that? First of all, if we are going to be raptured out of here, then there is no need to either watch or be prepared for anything. It’s only if we are going to have to go through the tremendous time of trial coming on the earth that we need to be concerned.

Those trials, and the temptations that accompany them, will touch every aspect of our lives. Our need for insight and understanding about what to do will go through the roof! With that in mind, it turns out that there are many facets to being watchful and prepared. Here is a “check list” of the basics.

List of Articles

Is Prepping Biblical? What kind of question is this? The greatest preppers of all time are in the Bible. Not only are they praised for prepping, but in certain outstanding cases it was the Lord God who ordered them to do it. Noah and Joseph should come immediately to mind and settle this question for one and all. If it is more “spiritual” to just trust the Lord, then why isn’t that what the Lord told those two to do? Are we more spiritual than those giants of the faith?

Prepare to Meet Him This could be easily overlooked, especially if we don’t stop to examine what may be hidden away in the depths of our heart. Do we really want His Kingdom to reign directly over us? Are we truly ready to meet Him face to face? There is quite a distance in the Bible between Adam and Eve who hid from God and those whom Paul says, “love His appearing.” Part of being prepared, therefore, is making sure that there is nothing left in our hearts that would secretly want Jesus not to come!

Prepare to Join the Rescue Possibly, everyone’s first thought about the Last Days is how to either avoid or survive the Tribulation. Then, we may shift our focus to the lovely reality of Jesus being down here with us. Concern for the Great Harvest at the end of the age might be low on a lot of lists. We can be sure, however, that it’s high on the Lord’s. In fact, we’re told that the Lord is delaying His Return into order to save as many as possible before things come to a screeching halt. No one will make it through the Tribulation by trying to save themselves alone. Heartily joining this colossal, divine effort to save others is the way forward. Get ready for that now.

Prepare by Discerning the Times The gospels reveal that Jesus fully expected people to discern the times they were living in. He royally dressed down the Pharisees for not doing so. If this applied to the relatively peaceable events surrounding Jesus first coming, how much more must it apply to His second? From today, all the way through to His Return, we will need to have a “weather eye” for shifts and changes in the spiritual atmosphere surrounding us. How can you seek shelter from a storm, if you don’t know one is coming your way? How can we learn to discern the times we will be going through?

Prepare by Studying the Scriptures As always the written Word is our anchor and our rock-solid source of revelation. Since over 100 chapters in the Bible carry messages about the Last Days, we would be wise to study them. Those passages are there for a reason. Apparently, Jesus believes that His Church will need to know with an absolute assurance many vital things about the days ahead. Much has already been gathered by others and we can learn from them, but as we know, nothing takes the place of hearing for yourself “what the Spirit says to the churches.” There is so much that is still “hidden in plain sight” that will need study, unfolding events and revelation by the Holy Spirit to make known.

Prepare for Judging Prophecies Scripture is our unfailing guide, but it doesn’t cover all the details of upcoming events. Fortunately for us, the Lord is already raising up prophets with visions, dreams and even direct encounters with Jesus and the righteous angels so that we can have prophetic guidance in the days ahead. Unfortunately, the enemy is doing the same! All manner of misinformation, demonically inspired visions, rumors, and lies are being spread abroad in the land—just as Jesus foretold. We must never be discouraged that there are so many false prophets, but keep seeking out the true ones. Here are guidelines for better listening.

Prepare by Learning Guidance Jesus says that His sheep hear His voice. They not only know the scriptures, but they are able to listen for direction, encouragement and correction coming directly from Him. In the days ahead, it won’t be enough to know His Word. It’s won’t be enough to hear from His prophets. It’s highly likely that we will all need to listen directly to Him in one situation of danger or hardship after another. The truth is that we should all be doing this now! If we aren’t, there is still time to learn, but guidance isn’t a science that can be taught in a classroom. It’s an art that is best learned by daily practice. Here’s how.

Prepare by Taking on Humility It is well known that pride goes before a fall. None of us want to fall during the days ahead. We want to walk faithfully, lovingly and bravely through them. That won’t happen if pride gets its way! And pride can be very difficult to see in ourselves. It’s the impulse to put our own needs ahead of others; to trust ourselves, rather than the Lord; and to draw confidence from our own knowledge and strength. This just won’t work in the days ahead. Yielding to the Lord, extending ourselves for others, and a healthy recognition of how little we can do without Him—these are the “secret weapons” of humility. Fortunately, there are ways we can grow it while there’s still time.

Prepare by Casting off Fear The scriptures say that in the Last Days people’s hearts will fail them for fear of the things coming on the earth. That doesn’t have to be us! We have been forewarned both about the perilous times that are coming and of the danger that fear itself will hold for any who have not learned to vanquish this formidable temptation. With all of the other troubles surrounding us, the one thing we won’t need to add is fear. That only makes every problem worse! Worse than that, it can even lead a frightened person to abandon the faith, rather than stay faithful in the face of persecution. Martyrs’ of the past may not have always been entirely fearless, but they stood firm. We would do well to gain victories over fear now, so it won’t gain victory over us later.

Prepare for Calamities Unquestionably, there will be all manner of natural disasters, civil crises and other dangers that we should prepare to face. Not everything has a purely spiritual answer. During World War II, they sang, “Praise the Lord and pass the ammunition.” That got the balance right! If you can see a storm coming, don’t expect the Lord to close the windows for you. Making plans and being prepared is a part of being faithful. However, if practical preparation is impossible for you to do given your circumstances, then be assured that the Lord knows this and has made other plans. On the other hand, if the Lord has us placed in such a way that we can set things aside, then very likely His plans include us being prepared. Here ae some things to take into consideration.

Prepare by Knowing the Timeline (Matthew 24:1-31) Did Jesus give us a timeline for the major events of the End Times? Yes, He did! This wonderful timeline includes the birth pangs, the Great Tribulation, the rise of the antichrist and all the stunning elements of His Return. It functions like a skeleton, providing the structural element that supports living flesh and connects it the right way. The only thing left for us to do is to “put meat on these bones” by taking other End Times passages from elsewhere in the Bible and attach them at the right spot. Of course, if you take this skeleton apart and rearrange it (as some do), you don’t get a lovely prophetic creation from Jesus, you get a monstrosity. But why would anyone want to do that?

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