Consequently, faith comes from hearing the message, and the message is heard through the word about Christ.
Romans 10:17
I found this statement to be true -personally. I knew of God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit since I was a child, emphasizing the word knew “of” because I didn’t “personally know God”- just was taught about Him, but that all changed as I studied the Bible. No longer was God some mysterious being, Jesus some historical figure of the past or the Holy Spirit (a “mystery” to me) but I started to understand God’s character, thoughts (in more detail than “love your neighbor”), things He hates, what He loves, and what His will is for all of us: to be with Him in eternity. Thankfully, He went through extraordinary means for us (meaning Jesus on the cross) and for me personally that my “eyes finally opened” as a result of studing scripture, I finally know God personally. It didn’t happen from anyone “teaching” me anything, it happened when I started seeking to know Him to understand what’s in the Bible and studying scripture. There are several true statements about seeking too, some are:
Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.
Isaiah 55:6
But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
Matthew 6:33 (Jesus said this)
“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.
Matthew 7:7 (Jesus said this)
My way of thinking drastically changed (in a positive way) as I studied and I realized “truths” about many questions I had. My faith grew and I believed deeper. I have a solid faith now. Before I had some questions, but those were answered by studying scripture. Due to the impact scripture had on me, I began to share what I was learning on this website, on Instagram, and in a podcast.
Spotify Podcast Link
I’m currently working on a Bible Study Podcast covering the Book of John, reading and discussing a chapter per day (when I can). I chose this one because John was one of the first disciples and he expressed in his writings that he thought he was closest to Jesus (like a best friend), so I’m interested in his insight. He was also the one who wrote the book of Revelation, which I’ve learned so much from; he expands on what the prophets of Israel: Daniel, Zechariah and Ezekiel taught. If you want to grow your faith, try listening to this podcast and see if studying scripture affects you the way it did me?
If you are a Christian, especially if you study scripture, you will be blown away by the information in this video, some of it I’ve noticed as I’ve studied scripture over the past 4 years, but there is so much more symbolic and metaphoric meaning in scripture that I didn’t even notice, but see it now after it’s pointed out. This is not a video that scares, it is beautiful and full of the hope that Christians have for our future. You will enjoy this!
Despite the title of the video “Messiah 2030“, the creator of the video is not saying this “theory” is absolute which I find being humble because none of us can say with certainty, but after you hear the scripture, notice the symbols, prophecies, patterns and traditions that point to this date, especially as I said if you are familiar with scripture, it is hard not to think this could be a strong possibility. We will ultimately know this only in hindsight.
The main reason for sharing this is for all of us to ask these questions: What if it’s true? Am I prepared to meet Jesus? Have I been “born again” (born of the water which is repentant and born of the spirit which is received the spirit from God)? Jesus said we cannot enter the kingdom of God unless we are “born again.” Read John Chapter 3 for more understanding of this. If it is this soon, or sooner, in fact we don’t know if we will personally be living tonight/tomorrow if some freak situation happens – so the time to prepare is now, not later. Turn away from “sinful” things and turn to God, live a changed godly life with the help of the Holy Spirit (this is called Repentance) and Believe what Jesus taught. Jesus took care of the rest and made it possible for us to be saved. If you seek him you will find him; he will reveal himself to you.
When we know the Truth and accept it, the truth will set us free. This is the truth:
We were planned, not an accident, not by chance, but intentionally created by God out of His love. God controls all life.
We have a purpose to fulfill on earth given to us by God.
There is a future kingdom coming. A new earth. We are on the testing grounds right now.
Our actions will be judged by Jesus, son of God who will be given this authority to judge and rule the earth.
Circumventing Jesus won’t turn out well.
Our actions matter at judgement but won’t get us into eternity. Obedience to God’s commands is the basis for judgement.
Repentance is significantly important – there are actions that will prevent us from being in God’s kingdom if we don’t change our ways.
Jesus bridges the gap, made the way for us.
We need the Holy Spirit indwelling to have immortal eternal life and be a part of God’s new Kingdom which is coming. The Holy Spirit comes from God through Jesus.
God loves us and wants us with Him in His future Kingdom.
When I hear news of current events (political, within nations, globally, etc.) it often seems like we are living in a movie set during production with all the weird, unusual and horrific things that are happening. It seems like this can’t be real! But it apparently is real. Because of the level of evil that has transpired over the past 3 years, the only thing that makes sense out of this is spiritual warfare, in my opinion. Unfortunately, spiritual warfare is real. I didn’t think it was real until I started seeking God in my own life; and in hindsight, I believe I experienced quite a bit of spiritual warfare when I first asked God to guide my life, but at the time I didn’t realize what was happening to me. I just thought I was having “bad luck”- well I don’t believe in “good luck or bad luck” any longer, I believe “luck” is actually the spiritual influences on our lives.
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.
Ephesians 6:12
Because this is true, Christians need to know how to successfully respond in a spiritual war. How?
Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
Ephesians 6:13
I believe that every person will experience spiritual warfare to some degree when surrendering to God/accepting Jesus. Why?
The thief (Satan) comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I (Jesus) have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.
John 10:10
Unfortunately, those who don’t believe do not have access to the “armor of God” which is available to those who are “in Christ,” born again: born of the water (repentance) and born of the spirit (receiving the Holy Spirit). Until we believe, we are “prisoners in bondage” to the evil spiritual realm. All of us start there, some will stay there and some will make the decision to become “born again,” also called “a new creation.” It’s not an easy choice to make because it involves a true willingness to repent/change, many people will feel a strong resistance to do this, but it’s available to all, and it’s worth everything when you consider the eternal consequences of this decision!
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!
2 Corinthians 5:17
I watched a video about breaking demonic strongholds, the information is biblically supported and informative on this subject, I’ll include the link to the video at the end. The video is over 2 hours long and most people find it hard to listen for that long. I did listen and took notes, so this next part of this article is a summation of the video (but to fully comprehend this information, it may be necessary to watch the entire video.) Here is the summary:
WHAT ARE THE 10 MOST COMMON EVIL SPIRITUAL STRONGHOLDS?
Indoctrination (believing a false religion, one that believes we can earn salvation through what we do, one that denies Jesus)
Accusation (believing we are not forgiven for a past sin when we have repented)
Temptation (the evil spiritual realm is all about luring us into temptation that is a struggle for us)
Intimidation (having fear, anxiety)
Depression (experiencing sadness when we should be joyful, depression can be caused by life experiences too)
Distraction (interrupting us as soon as we begin to pray, read scripture, or make plans to go to church)
Confusion (when truth vs. lies is competing in our mind- it’s easier to confuse someone than for them to believe something contrary to their core beliefs, ego plays a factor also)
Affliction (mental torment)
Isolation
Addiction
HOW DO EVIL SPIRITUAL STRONGHOLDS HAPPEN?
a LIE -this is how it starts, a lie comes into our mind: if we don’t believe the lie, the stronghold doesn’t work, but if we believe the lie, then we are deceived.
Deception doesn’t happen until we believe the lie. Deception then becomes:
a Mindset through which other thoughts become processed. Our future thoughts are then “warped”, not reality. This becomes:
a Filter for all of our thoughts, which affects:
our Feelings, which influence:
our Actions, which determine:
our Habits, which creates:
a Cycle (then we are “on repeat” and stuck in this stronghold)
HOW DO WE BREAK THE STRONGHOLD?
TRUTH: To break from this cycle, we need to identify the lie and replace it with the truth found in scripture, God’s word. Jesus did this when he was tempted by Satan in the wilderness after Jesus’ baptism. Jesus quoted truth from scripture against every “lie” Satan presented. (Read Matthew Chapter 4) Jesus also said “truth will set you free” (Read John 8: 31-36) If we are not reading scripture, thereby knowing the truth, we are easy prey for evil spiritual attacks. The evil spiritual realm is convincing, cunning, manipulative, deceptive and effective in their works. Demons often use: a) deception, b) sickness and c) violent people to accomplish their mission. But with the help of the Holy Spirit, we will be guided to truth and given wisdom as we read scripture. This is what is happening when we “discover” something new reading the bible, even when its been decades of reading the bible (people still claim to continually learn something new, see something they saw before but didn’t comprehend until that moment).
Use the Armor of God. What is the Armor of God? (Read Ephesians 6:10-19) This is for the Believer: ALL can be defeated by this biblical strategy! A summary of the Armor of God:
Prayer (First Step always)
Know the Truth (through scripture, which is the word of God, the Holy Spirit and sound teachers- meditate on the word)
Righteousness (Obedience to God’s way, obey the word, scripture, God’s teachings)
Peace (that comes from knowing the Gospel Message)
Faith (in God)
Salvation- Living in God’s future kingdom, a new earth (the promise of God, received through Jesus’ death and resurrection)
These strategies will make a difference in your life! I personally experienced this in my own life and know because this worked for me.
Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he willflee from you.
James 4:7
The video is worth watching in entirety when you have 2 hrs 25 min! Here is the video:
If we seek success in anything; we typically create a strategy to achieve it. Agree? So I’m going to ask THE MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION OF YOUR EXISTENCE: The “Day of the Lord” is approaching; What is your Strategy?
First of all, what is “the Day of the Lord”? Here is a link summarizing the “the Day of the Lord” also read the 22 exact verses found in both Hebrew and Greek scripture from the Bible (click link here). The Day of the Lord is both a good day (for those prepared) and a bad day (for those unprepared). You have time, right now, to prepare.
Since The Day of the Lord hasn’t arrived yet: is your current strategy, I am prepared or I am unprepared (haven’t done anything about it yet)? Like everything else in life, we can say, I’ll do it after…(whatever excuse follows in the ….). That excuse/reason or delay may be okay for some decisions in life, but for this decision in life, remember, we have no guarantees on the time remaining in our life. That’s God’s decision. Our decision about preparing or remaining unprepared holds the highest possible risk and is THE MOST IMPORTANT DECISION you will ever make because it will affect you ETERNALLY. If you haven’t prepared yet, be thankful to God that your life hasn’t ended and you can change where you reside eternally.
Some people are procrastinators, this probably applies to many of us: We procrastinate on decisions or things we don’t want to do. We make excuses about being “too busy,” but that is just an excuse making us sound important, in demand, etc. But the truth is, we make time for what is important, so being “too busy” means whatever we delay on, is simply not a priority, is not important to us. Again, this might not be critical when it comes to other people, but when it comes to us and God, it is critical. It is a matter of eternal placement.
I grew up Catholic, so I want to mention this made up place of “Purgatory” – it DOES NOT EXIST according to the Bible! After we die, there are no second changes to make amends with God. Jesus clearly told his followers this, when he told the story of Lazarus as documented in the book of Luke Chapter 16 verses 19-31, once we die, our eternal placement is finalized. We will be in a “holding place” called Heaven or in Hades (two very different places). There is no way to cross over between the two places and no way to go back to earth to warn others. There is no way to change the outcome of your eternal destiny at that point. We are given a certain unknown number of opportunities by God (we don’t know how many, the number is up to God), but at a certain point, when God sees us reject Him over and over and not desire a change, He lets us have what we want and He turns us over to our decision. So we can’t blame God about this. We are responsible for this outcome- it was our choice. This is important to know, believe what Jesus said and if a “church”, religion or person ever contradicts what Jesus said, trust Jesus (the way the truth and life- John 14:16) and reject the other. Jesus came to save us, no one else can accomplish that for us nor do they care about us the way that Jesus does. The point is this decision (to be prepared) must be made before we pass away. There are no second chances! Don’t be deceived!
Because this question: “What Happens after Death?” is unclear for many of us, I will write a follow up article on what scripture tells us so people will no longer be confused. It’s unbelievable how many fables have been created to cause confusion and deception. Yes, I think it was intentional to cause confusion and deception – that’s what the enemy of God does: causes confusion and deception in an effort to steal, kill and destroy the people God created. (John 10:10)
I plan to write another follow up article to this one:“What are the signs the Day of the Lord is approaching?” supporting this statement with scripture.
If you want to prepare:
Learn about Jesus from the books of Matthew (one of Jesus’ followers), Mark (a friend of one of Jesus’ followers – Peter), Luke (a doctor who interviewed people who knew Jesus and documented what they said) and John (one of Jesus’ followers, who claimed to be a close friend of Jesus). Do you believe what Jesus said/taught? Can you see that Jesus came to bring eternal life to sinners? Do you understand that Jesus is the ONLY way that it is possible for us to live in eternity with God? (We can’t get there by being “good.” Jesus said: no one is good, but God. and He also said: “no one comes to the Father except through me“)
Ask God for forgiveness of sins and commit to changing (with the help of the Holy Spirit- ask Jesus for the Holy Spirit to help)- this is what scripture calls: “Repent”
Get Baptized in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit– this is symbolic of the inner commitment you make to change, turn away from the sinful way of living. When our commitment is honest, God will give us His Spirit when we ask Jesus. This indwelling of the Spirit is when we are prepared. From this point forward, we wait for the return of Jesus. Those who have died in the past will raise from the dead and be given immortal eternal bodies (1 Thessalonians 4: 16-17), those who are still alive when Jesus returns will be changed in an instant (1 Corinthians 15:52) and will be gathered by Jesus and angels to be sheltered and protected from the wrath of God (on the Day of the Lord),
Only you can prepare yourself for this, no one else can do it for you. This is your decision and your destiny as a result of your preparedness: Will you be Prepared or Unprepared?
This topic (“the day of the Lord”- search those words in a digital bible for understanding) came to mind after I woke up remembering a vision from a dream. I was in the middle of the woods, trees had no leaves, like on a trail, but there were no trails. I saw gentle, loving cute puppies and dogs that were infested with fleas. The puppies and dogs acted completely normal, greeting with wagging their tails, one was injured, without an eye, and shied away a little, but the fleas didn’t seem to make a difference regarding how they responded. I saw a person off in the distance, she was right in the middle of all the flea covered dogs, still loving them as they were, petting them, letting them sit on her lap, as if nothing needed to be done about their condition. It was a strange scene, but most dreams are strange, after praying then reflecting on this dream, I see some biblical applications.
The dogs are symbolic of people, there are many gentle, loving, attractive people who don’t realize they are “infested.” They don’t know what is in the bible, they are unaware of their condition in God’s eyes and their future according to what scripture tells us. People are injured (the dog without an eye and all with fleas), struggling, damaged from life experiences, (still acting normal, doing what we do every day, the same, with no change) yet completely unaware that something can be done to change the condition. The fleas are symbolic of what separates us from God (our actions which are contrary to God’s commands- aka “sin.”) The person in the vision is a loving person who accepts all people as they are (which is a good thing) HOWEVER that person is not doing anything to help the dogs get rid of the fleas and improve their condition, so that person could be doing something more than comforting the dogs.
So the question for all of us is: what part of the scene are you? The dog covered in fleas? The dog without an eye (injured)? The person comforting infested dogs (people)? The person observing all of this? Whatever role we see as ourselves, this shows us there is an action ahead for each of us.
If you are the dog, are you covered in fleas? Do you know what separates you from God? Are you reading, studying the Bible (scripture), asking questions to find out?
If you are the person comforting others or if you are the person observing this, there is more for you to do. Help the dogs (people) get rid of the fleas (sin that separates us from God). Lead people to Jesus through the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in the bible, through becoming an active participant in a Bible Study, keep doing good things for others, but “step up your game,” there is more to be done. Get active in preparing people for God’s kingdom. That is the kindest, most loving, most comforting thing we can share with others.
Preparation for God’s kingdom is this:
First: knowing Jesus, not knowing of him (as in a “fact”), but knowing him personally (his character, the meaning of the stories he told, the wisdom of God’s kingdom that he shared). Jesus said he was the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father, except through him.
Second: knowing what separates us from God (as described by Jesus and every author of the books found in the Bible).
Third: Commit to changing whatever separates you (personally) from God. Surrender your life to Jesus, (when you decide you want to change and live life better, live life as God wants us to.) This is what is meant by “Repent.” As a symbol of this decision, get baptized. Luke 3:3- verse study link From the time Jesus began preaching he said to repent for the kingdom of God is near. (Matthew 4:17) Jesus showed us what surrender means. Jesus did this when he prayed “Not my will but yours be done.” This surrender to God’s will is also found in the one prayer that Jesus taught his followers:
6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.7And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words.8Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him.
9 “This, then, is how you should pray:
“ ‘Our Father in heaven,
hallowed be your name,
10 your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven.
11 Give us today our daily bread.
12 And forgive us our debts,
as we also have forgiven our debtors.
13 And lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from the evil one. ’
14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
Matthew 6: 6-14
Fouth: Ask Jesus for the Advocate (the Holy Spirit) after you decide to repent, change because you want to be with God in eternity. The Holy Spirit will work with you, help you, begin to change you into a more godly person. We won’t be perfect, not until Jesus returns when we are given new immortal supernatural bodies, but we will begin to change into better people and will then be prepared for when Jesus returns. On our own this is impossible, but with God, all things are possible. (Matthew 19:26)
Fifth: Stay connected to God, Jesus, the Holy Spirit through daily prayer, reading scripture. John 15
Then help others do the same. This is the most loving thing we can do for others: sharing God’s kingdom, eternity with others so they can prepare themselves with the help of the Holy Spirt, then REST and ENJOY all that God has planned for us. Revelation 21 and Revelation 22.
This article is Part 1 of a multipart series focusing on “the Day of the Lord” and advance preparation. Follow this podcast or website to continue in the series.
S.A.I.L. 