1. Lawlessness! (2Thess 2:7)

“For the mystery of iniquity doth already work.”

2. Deception! (Matt 24:4,5,11,24)

“4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you. 5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many.”

3. Pestilences! (Matt 24:7)

“..and there shall be famines, and pestilences.”

4. One World Government! (Rev 13, 18)

5. Wars and Rumors of Wars! (Matt 24:6)

“6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet.”

6. Anti Semitism! (Dan 7:25)

“25And he shall speak great words against the most High, and shall wear out the saints of the most High, and think to change times and laws: and they shall be given into his hand until a time and times and the dividing of time.”

7. Antichrist! (Dan 9:27; Rev 13; 2Thess 2:4)

“And he shall confirm the covenant with many for one week: and in the midst of the week he shall cause the sacrifice and the oblation to cease, and for the overspreading of abominations he shall make it desolate, even until the consummation, and that determined shall be poured upon the desolate.”

8. Temple Rebuilding and Desecration (Matt 24:15)

“15When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand.”

9. Apostasy! (2Thess 2:3)

“Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition.”

10. One World Currency! (Rev 13:16-18)

“16And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: 17And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name. 18Here is wisdom. Let him that hath understanding count the number of the beast: for it is the number of a man; and his number is Six hundred threescore and six.”

11. One World Religion! (Rev 17:5)

“5And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.”

1. High Gas prices – Hope is in Jesus! (Matt 6:33,34)

“33But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. 34Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”

2. Wars & rumors of wars – Hope is in Jesus! (Matt 24:3-7)

“3And as he sat upon the mount of Olives, the disciples came unto him privately, saying, Tell us, when shall these things be? and what shall be the sign of thy coming, and of the end of the world? 4And Jesus answered and said unto them, Take heed that no man deceive you…. 5For many shall come in my name, saying, I am Christ; and shall deceive many. 6And ye shall hear of wars and rumours of wars: see that ye be not troubled: for all these things must come to pass, but the end is not yet. 7For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom.”

3. Pestilences (Covid) – Hope is in Jesus! (Matt 24:7,8)

“…..and there shall be famines, and pestilences, and earthquakes, in divers places. 8All these are the beginning of sorrows.”

4. Political instability – Hope is in Jesus! (Prov 21:1)

“1The king’s heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of water: he turneth it whithersoever he will….”

(Dan 2:34,35)

“34Thou sawest till that a stone was cut out without hands, which smote the image upon his feet that were of iron and clay, and brake them to pieces. 35Then was the iron, the clay, the brass, the silver, and the gold, broken to pieces together, and became like the chaff of the summer threshingfloors; and the wind carried them away, that no place was found for them: and the stone that smote the image became a great mountain, and filled the whole earth.”

“8He hath shewed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the LORD require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God?”

2. Human Pride that robs God of Glory is sinful! (1Pet 5:6)

“Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time.”

Conclusion: James writes,

“6But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.” (James 4:6)

Introduction: Do you have trouble sleeping? One man said, not too bad except, sometimes in the daytime! I love what Solomon was inspired to write. Check out the following:

“24When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid: yea, thou shalt lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet.”

Several ideas come from this text.

1. Fear keep us from sleep! (Prov 3:24)

“24When thou liest down, thou shalt not be afraid.”

The word “afraid” is פָחַד,(paw-kkad’), which means to dread, be in dread or in awe. Honestly, when we dread something, it usually makes us sleepless.

The word “sweet” is עָרֵב: (aw-rabe’), which means to be sweet or pleasing.

2. Sudden fear and devastation keeps us from sleeping! (Prov 3:25)

“Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked, when it cometh.”

When trouble comes, it can keep us from sleep.

3. But the Lord gives us His presence and peace to help us to sleep! (Prov 3:26)

“26For the LORD shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken.”

When we have confidence in Jesus it soothes our soul and calms our fears.

Introduction: Instead of owners, we are managers. We have been entrusted to be faithful stewards of what our Lord has given us. How are you doing? We need a check up.

1. Enemies of STEWARDSHIP! Covetousness ( Luke 12:15)

“15And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man’s life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.”

2. Foolishness with possessions! (Luke 12:16-21)

“6And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: 17And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? 18And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. 19And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. 20But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided?”

The rich man cared only about the present day. His short-sightedness caused Jesus to call him a fool. There is a great temptation in our day to look only at the present instead of the future.

3. Jesus clarifies what our focus should be! (Luke 12:21)

“1So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.”

There is nothing wrong with having possessions or wealth, as long as it does not have us.

1. Time to get READY! (Rev 19:7)

“7Let us be glad and rejoice, and give honour to him: for the marriage of the Lamb is come, and his wife hath made herself ready.”

This is a heavenly scene. Finally the bride (the Church) is joined to her GROOM. Paul writes to the Ephesian believers:
(Eph 5:25-27)

“25Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; 26That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, 27That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish.”

As the bride of Christ right now, we must be watching and waiting for His return. Jesus said,

“In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. 3And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”(John 14:2,3)

2. Time to get our clothing (wedding dress) ready! (Rev 19:8)

“8And to her was granted that she should be arrayed in fine linen, clean and white: for the fine linen is the righteousness of saints.”

1. By the Power of Prevailing Prayer! (2Tim 1:3)

“3I thank God, whom I serve from my forefathers with pure conscience, that without ceasing I have remembrance of thee in my prayers night and day.”

2. By the Power of Remembrance of those who have “Poured” into us! (2Tim 1:5)

“5When I call to remembrance the unfeigned faith that is in thee, which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois, and thy mother Eunice; and I am persuaded that in thee also.”

3. By the Power of Passing on the mantle of God’s anointing! (2Tim 1:6)

“6Wherefore I put thee in remembrance that thou stir up the gift of God, which is in thee by the putting on of my hands.”

The word “stir up” is ἀναζωπυρέω,(an-ad-zo-poor-eh’-o), which means stir up the fire, fan the flame of.

Introduction: Truthfully, isn’t it difficult to TRUST the Lord when you cannot see the answer or the end of a trial? Yet, the Scripture teaches that without FAITH it is impossible to please God (Heb 11:6). Here are some insights that will help you when you’re going through a time of testing – testing your FAITH in Jesus (Heb 12:1-3).

1. TRUSTING the Lord Jesus when you cannot see!
(Rom 4:17-22)

“17As it is written, I have made thee a father of many nations,) before him whom he believed, even God, who quickeneth the dead, and calleth those things which be not as though they were. 18Who against hope believed in hope, that he might become the father of many nations; according to that which was spoken, So shall thy seed be. 19And being not weak in faith, he considered not his own body now dead, when he was about an hundred years old, neither yet the deadness of Sara’s womb: 20He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief; but was strong in faith, giving glory to God; 21And being fully persuaded that, what he had promised, he was able also to perform. 22And therefore it was imputed to him for righteousness.”

Abraham TRUSTED his God…to the point that even though he had not received the promise, he counted it and called it DONE! Wow!! Love it!!!

2. TRUSTING the Lord based on His WORD!
(Heb 11:6)

“6But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.”

Did you notice that our God REWARDS those that both seek Him, and believe Him?

3. TRUSTING the Lord when things do not always go the way you want them to!
(Job 13:15)

“15Though he slay me, yet will I trust in him.”

In spite of his hardships and suffering, Job determined to TRUST the Lord.

4. TRUSTING the Lord because He knows our situation!
(Job 23:10)

“10But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold.”

Job, with the eye of faith was able to see the end of his trial, which would result in him being purified.

5. TRUSTING the Lord and not leaning on own own understanding
(Prov 3:5,6)

“5Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.
6In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”

Depending on our limited knowledge and wisdom always leads to missing the mark. However, TRUSTING in Jesus results in His will and wisdom.

Introduction: Do you feel secure in Jesus? How about your eternal security? Living with insecurities can be devastating. This devotion will discuss how to have eternal life and how you can have security.

1. Eternal Security!

“11And this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. 13These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.” (1John 5:11-13)

Clearly, Eternal Life is in Jesus Christ. John writes, if you have the “Son” you have eternal life. Do you have the Son?
The same John writes the following:

“11He came unto his own, and his own received him not. 12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” (John 1:11-12)

“6Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.” (John 14:6)

“31But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” (John 20:31)

Praise the Lord! Jesus gives, and is….eternal life!

Conclusion: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”

Introduction: Do you ever feel burdened down with a heavy load? Would you like someone to help carry your heavy load? What does the Word of God reveal about helping others carry their burdensome weight?

Here are some suggestions:

1. It is biblical!

“2Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.” (Gal 6:2)

The word “bear” is βαστάζω,( bas-tad’-zo), which means I carry, bear, (take) away.

Since it is biblical, will you do it? Perhaps, you are carrying too much of a load? Will you reach out to someone and ask them to pray with you or for you?

2. It is burdensome!

“2Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Gal 6:2)

The word “burden” is βάρος, (bar’-os), which means a weight, a burden.

Expect to strain some while you help carry their burden. Don’t be surprised if afterward you get weary…it comes with the territory. But also remember how our Lord blesses when we make ourselves available for His use….and for His glory. 

3. It is bless-able!

“2Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” (Gal 6:2)

Don’t miss that last phrase…“and do fulfill the law of Christ.”

While this is in His divine plan, it is also important to remember that Jesus always BLESSES what He initiates.

Conclusion: Get ready to help carry a burden. And at the same time, get ready for a blessing because of your obedience to Jesus.

OBEDIENCE = BLESSINGS!