Well Hallelujah! A couple of the ducks are starting to lay eggs! We have had 4 so far, today we even got 2. Things are picking up! We ate the first one, and it tasted the same as a chicken egg for those who want to know. Figured I would keep you posted since I did publically "threaten with the freezer" the ducks in a blog a couple weeks ago.
After last weeks blog where Israel had been given a bill to make sharing about Jesus a crime in that country. Israel’s Prime Minister issued a statement saying they would do nothing further with that bill. Whew! Crisis averted. But in reality the crisis continues in over 100+ countries of the world, all making believing in Jesus a crime, punishable with jail or certain death.
What is it about this man that causes people to react in such an extreme way?
We are fast approaching Good Friday and Easter Sunday otherwise known as Resurrection Sunday, celebrated around the world as the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
The man named Jesus Christ was a real person, history proves that. There was a man named Jesus who was crucified by the Romans around 33 AD – history proves that. There was a day when the sun darkened for 3 or so hours – history proves that, but it does not prove the “why” it happened, probably an eclipse…..
History also records a violent earthquake around that same time period, but again, no one is sure if it was the same time, day or in any way related to the crucifixion, there are rumours.
Then there are those strange stories, written by historians, not Christians, the earthquake shook so hard that tombs opened and dead people came back to life and came out of their tombs and were actually seen walking around. Many dead people resurrected on that crucifixion day.
There was a man named Jesus who led some kind of revolution who came back from the dead, 3 days later, after all those other things happened and appeared to over 500+ witnesses over a period of 40 days. What??!! Eyewitnesses, over 500, hard to deny that many testimonies.
Easter: an empty grave, a dead man walking around talking to people. Easter.
A group of disciples who were hiding out, so scared and fearful for their lives, now suddenly, boldly proclaiming the news that Jesus Christ, their Rabbi – No their Lord, rose from the grave. They had seen Him, they had touched Him, they had spoken to Him. Unreal! Easter – a time for miracles and an empty tomb.
This man called Jesus was no ordinary man, He changed the face of the earth over 2,000 years ago and to be honest, the earth has never been the same since. He still is intimidating people today and they are still scared of Him. Easter – a time when life bursts forth from the ground in the form of Spring. New life, new birth.
Pastor Rick Warren’s Part 1 – about if Christians should fight was in last weeks blog. I had a couple people wonder what Part 2 would be… so I went looking and found his part 2. Some of the information in there blew me away.
Take a look:
WILL THE WORLD EVER HAVE PERMANENT PEACE? By Rick Warren
Yes, someday, but it's not going to happen until Jesus Christ comes back. The Bible says that one day Jesus Christ is going to come back to earth a second time. In fact, the Bible talks more about Jesus' second coming than it does about His first. In John 14, Jesus said it like this, "Let not your heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in Me. 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself that where I am there you may be also." Jesus said, "I'm going back to heaven and if I go, I'm going to prepare a place and I'm coming back."
Did He go? Yes he did.
Is He coming back? Absolutely.
As surely as He said He was going, He's coming back. The Bible says that when He comes back, He will set up a reign of peace on the earth. Isaiah and many other scriptures describe it. This is what it's going to be like: "He (Jesus) will settle disputes among nations. They will hammer their swords into plows and their spears into pruning knives. Nations will never again to go to war, never prepare for battle again." That sounds pretty good to me. This verse is over the United Nations, Jesus will fix it not them. We'll never have ultimate peace until the Prince of Peace (Jesus) establishes His reign on the earth. So there is going to be a day of permanent peace someday when Jesus comes back.
The question I've probably been asked more than any other one ...
IS THIS THE FINAL WAR?
Is this the war that's leading up to the Second Coming of Christ? We don't know. It could be. But we don't know. The Bible makes it very clear that history is moving toward a climax. One day it will be climaxed by a great battle which will involve Israel called the Battle of Armageddon. It will be fought in the Valley of Megiddo. Anytime an outbreak occurs in the Middle East, people start asking, "Is this it? Is this the end war?" And the answer is, "We don't know."
You need to understand that the Arab-Israeli conflict goes back thousands and thousands of years.
Jesus knows a little bit more than anybody else. Let's look at what He has to say about the end of times.
Luke 21:8-9 "Don't be fooled. Many will come in My name saying, `I am He!' and `The time has come!' But don't follow them. Don't be afraid when you hear of wars and revolutions; such things must happen but they don't mean the end is near. Countries will fight each other and kingdoms will attack one another."
I want to say this: There have been dozens and dozens of books that have set dates and time. Every one of them have been wrong. One hundred percent wrong.
Notice it says "...such things must happen..." Underline that. In the last 3,421 years there have only been 268 years that have seen no war. During the last 5,560 years -- recorded history -- there have been 14,531 wars averaging a little over 2.6 wars each year. In the history of 185 generations, only ten of those generations have experienced unbroken peace. So, when Jesus said "There's going to be wars and rumors of wars" He knew what He was talking about. We live in a fallen world.
People ask me why I don't preach more on prophecy. I say, "Why? Nobody knows" I could get up here and make some good guesses but they'd all be speculation. Jesus said, "Nobody knows when it's going to happen."
Not only did He say nobody knows, He said it's none of your business. Acts 1:7-8 "It's not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you are to be My witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, and the uttermost parts of the world." He says it's not for you to know. It's none of your business.
Three times in Matthew 25 He says, "Be ready!" He could come at any time but nobody knows the time. Acts 1:7-8 are the last words of Jesus before we went back to heaven. You figure the last words are probably the most important thing He wants to talk about. What do the disciples come and ask Him about. They ask Him about the Second Coming. When are You coming back? In Acts 1:6 they say, "Lord, when are You going to restore Your kingdom to Israel? When are you coming back?" Jesus turns around and says, "It's none of your business. Now go out and start sharing the faith."
Isn't it interesting how they asked a question about prophecy and He turns the question to evangelism? They want to talk about when He's coming back. He wants to talk about winning the world. That's the priority of Jesus' heart. That's why He talked more about winning the world because that's what Jesus is interested in. He wants everybody to know Him.
The Bible says that there is a war going on for the souls of men between God and Satan. The most used analogy for a Christian in the New Testament is a soldier -- fight the good fight, put on the whole armor of God, fight, strive, conquer, overcome, victory. Those are war terms that the Bible uses to represent the Christian life. The devil is trying to pull people away from God. It is our job as agents of God to go out and reach them with His love.
This is me, Jane now and I thank Pastor Rick Warren for the above article, and the one last week, “Should Christian's Fight?"
So, should Christians fight? Absolutely, fiercely, 100% yes. We are God’s hands and feet here on earth.
We need to fight on our knees, with our breath, with our energy and fight the fight for the souls of men and women. Battle begins in our hearts, where surrender to God's ways are fought. Are there times where we might possibly have to engage in physical battle? Possibly and last week in the blog we looked at what some of those kind of circumstances are.
God says, “be ready”. Be ready when He comes. Be ready when people need you. Be ready when you need other people. Be ready my friend for whatever is coming our way.
Will we know just when Jesus is coming back? No. We can guess, we can speculate and we can certainly look around us at the circumstances and make a good guess, but Jesus said “No one knows….”
In light of that just how do we respond to this upcoming 2023 Easter?
I think we respond exactly like we have responded in the past 2,000 Easters. We look up to where Jesus ascended in heaven and thank God and Jesus for their sacrifices for us. We embrace life with the Holy Spirit and we live with expectation and wonder at the craziness of the world around us and we stand amazed that God put us, you and me, into this time frame ‘for such a time as this.’
God Bless You.