August 30, 2009

Mark 13

'Is You Ready?'

As Jesus was leaving the Temple that day, one of his disciples said, "Teacher, look at these tremendous buildings!  Look at the massive stones in the walls!"

Jesus replied, "These magnificent buildings will be so completely demolished that not one stone will be left on top of another."

Later, Jesus sat on the slopes of the Mount of Olives across the valley from the Temple.  Peter, James, John and Andrew came to him privately and asked him, "When will all this take place?  And will there be any sign ahead of time to show us when all this will be fulfilled?"

Jesus replied, "Don't let anyone mislead you, because many will come in my name, claiming to be the Messiah.  They will lead many astray.  And wars will break out near and far, but don't panic.  Yes, these things must come, but the end won't follow immediately.  Nations and kingdoms will proclaim war against each other, and there will be earthquakes in many parts of the world, and famines.  But all this will be only the beginning of the horrors to come.  But when thse things begin to happen, watch out!  You will be handed over to the courts and beaten in the synagogues.  You will be accused before governors and kings of being my followers.  This will be your opportunity to tell them about me.  And the Good News must first be preached to every nation.  But when you are arrested and stand trial, don't worry about what to say in your defense.  Just say what God tells you to.  Then it is not you who will be speaking, but the Holy Spirit.

"Brother will betray brother to death, fathers will betray their own children and children will rise against their parents and cause them to be killed.  And everyone will hate you because of your allegiance to me. But those who endure to the end will be saved.

"The time will come when you will see the sacrilegious object that causes desecration standing where it should not be" --reader, pay attention!  Then those in Judea must flee to the hills.  A person outside the  house must not go back into the house to pack.  A person in the field must not return even to get a coat.  How terrible it will be for pregnant women and for mothers nursing their babies in those days.  And pray that your flight will not be in winter.  For those will be days of greater horror than at any time since God created the world.  And it will never happen again. In fact, unless the Lord shortens that time of calamity, the entire human race will be destroyed.  But for the sake of his chosen ones he has shortened those days.

And then if anyone tells you, "Look, here is the messiah,' or, 'There his is,' don't pay any attention.  For false messiahs and false prophets will rise up and perform miraculous signs and wonders so as to deceive, if possible, even God's chosen ones.  Watch out!  I have warned you!

"At that time, after those horrible days end, the sun will be darkened, the moon will not give light, the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of heaven will be shaken.

Then everyone will see the Son of Man arrive on the clouds with great power and glory.  And he will send forth his angels to gather together his chosen ones from all over the world--from the farthest ends of the earth and heaven.

"Now, learn a lesson from the fig tree.  When its buds become tender and its leaves begin to sprout, you know without being told that summer is near.  Just so, when you see the events I've described beginning to happen, you can be sure that his return is very near, right at the door.  I assure you, this generation will not pass from the scene until all these events have taken place.  Heaven and earth will disappear, but my words will remain forever.

However, no one knows the day or the hour when these things will happen, not ever the angels in heaven or the Son himself.  Only the Father knows.  And since you don't know when they will happen, stay alert and keep watch.

"The coming of the Son of Man can be compared with that of a man who left home to go on a trip,  He gave each of his employees instructions about the work they were to do and he told the gatekeeper to watch for his return--at evening, midnight, early dawn or late daybreak.  Don't let him find you sleeping when he arrives without warning.   What I say to you I say to everyone:  Watch for his return!" 

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Thoughts...

I don't usually preach doom and gloom.  I leave that for those that preach from the Old Testament.  However, it helps me to get to the point of the New Testament.  'Is you ready?'  

I am reading a book about a preacher who is in the 'back woods' of mountain country.  [Many thanks to Jan Karon for The Mitford Series.]  The wonderful people in the 'back woods' are not necessarily literate or linguistic (Am I...is that the right word?) in this book.  But they have a wisdom born of pain.  They might not say to one another, 'Are you ready for Jesus Christ to come?'  Or 'Are you right with Christ?'  They would say, 'Is you ready?'  So I ask you, 'is you ready?'  Do you have a relationship with Jesus Christ?  Do you know God...not just know that he is, but who he is, what he's done....and for you?  Have you spoken with Holy Spirit today?

I could break todays scriptures down as a study.  Or you could look at your life as a study and decide once and for ever, do you want to have a relationship with God, Jesus, and Holy Spirit, or do you want to continue to gamble, believing you are the only one that can make your life right...alone?   If you want to be in a relationship with Jesus Christ, pray the prayer below.  If you do not, I will pray for you.

Don't worry right now about the rest of the world, or the people around you or what they might say or do.  This is your life we are talking about right now.  Your's and Jesus'.  Only the Trinity can make your life right and mean something.  Think you have everything with your fancy house and cars?  Think you have everything because you have freedom living on the streets?  Think again.  You don't have life.  You don't even have an abundant life.  You have material things and nothing else.

I usually tell people it does not matter when 'the' end times come, it matters when your end time comes.   Choose life...pray with me now.

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Let Us Pray  

Lord God, Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world.  I am a sinner.  I may not seem like a sinner to the world, but I've been greedy, selfish, bitter, pitiful, not loved you with my whole heart, and certainly have not loved my neighbor as myself.  I am sorry and I humbly repent.  I thought my life had meaning, but apparently it does not mean what it should.  I am sorry I have not counted you in, or on you, or done things for you...and others.  The few times I did, were for my glory, not yours.  Please forgive me.  Now teach me how to live for you and with you.  Show me all you have to show me about you...and myself.  I want to live for you.  I want a new life.  I want to be ready when you call, everyday that you call, when it counts in the end, when you call me at the last trumpet blast.  I want to be ready, I want to be able to say, 'I's ready!  Take me now Lor' Jesus.'  And mean it.   Today, right now, I accept you Jesus as my Lord and Savior.  I thank you God for sending him to give my life meaning.  Holy Spirit show me the truth about God and Jesus, you and myself.  Help me to bear the pain, be forgiven of the shame, and live a new life with you.  Then, help me to tell others about you...all that you are and how wonderful you are...if only for the opportunity to realize you died for me and to help make my life count...and you died for them, too.  Carry me when I cannot walk, see for me when I cannot see.  'Pray me up' when I cannot even pray.  And thank you for hearing my groanings today.  I'll learn to love you, I really will.  Right now, I appreciate you a lot.  Amen.   

Hear my song today O Lord:

On Eagle's Wings

You who dwell in the shelter of the Lord / Who abide in His shadow for life / Say to the Lord:  "My refuge, my rock in whom I trust."

And He will raise you up in Eagle's Wings / Bear you on the breath of dawn / Make you to shine like the sun, / And hold you in the palm of His hand.

The snare of the fowler will never capture you / And famine will bring you no fear / Under His wings your refuge / His faithfulness your shield.

Refrain

You need not fear the terror of the night / Nor the arrow that flies by day / Though thousands fall about you, / Near you it shall not come.

Refrain

For to his angels He's given a command / To guard you in all of your ways / upon thier hands they will bear you up / Lest you dash your foot against a stone.

And He will raise you up in Eagle's Wings / Bear you on the breath of dawn / Make you to shine like the sun, / And hold you in the palm of His hand.  And hold you in the palm.....of his hand.  

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Please read Psalm 91 to further understand how loved and protected we are when we live in the shelter of the Most High Almighty God.

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Benediction

Let us hear from Paul as he prays:  

When I think of the wisdom and scope of God's plan, I fall to my knees and pray to the Father, the Creator of everything in heaven and on earth.  I pray that from his glorious, unlimited resouces he will give you mighty inner strength through his Holy Spirit.  And I pray that Christ will be more and more at home in your hearts as you trust in him.  May your roots go down deep into the soil of God's marvelous love.  And may you have the power to understand, as all God's people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep his love really is.  May you experience the love of Christ, though it is so great you will never fully understand it.  Then you will be filled with the fullness of life and power that comes from God.

Now glory be to God!  By his mighty power at work within us, he is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.  May he be given glory in the church and in Christ Jesus forever and ever through endless ages.  Amen.  Ephesians 3:14-21 NLT         

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Scroll down to read Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving...'The Unforced Rythms of Grace'.

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Definition of a Christian:  Anyone who believes in God, Jesus and Holy Spirit, and accepts Jesus as Lord and Savior.  Regardless of church name or religious affiliation.  

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If you feel that the Church of the Holy Spirit has inspired or helped you, we'd like you to prayerfully consider tithing regulary to us or gifting us, so that we can further the work and carry out the will of the Father as proclaimed in Matthew 28:16 NLT

 to

 "Go and make disciples out of all the nations

baptising them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you.  And be sure of this:

I am with you always, even to the end of the age."

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  Our NEW Current Cause

My family and I, and the church, are in crisis and could desperately use your prayers and financial support.  Due to medical concerns, employment crisis, and economic devastation,  I do not have funding to meet everyday expenses right now for the church, or family, and home, nor those necessary to keep this website afloat, for those shut-in or needing spiritual support, nor the ability to help others along the way.  But I am confident that, with your help, balance can be achieved.  As God touches your heart, I hope you will pray earnestly for the church, my family and me, and send any amount of money you can to help.  Please note 'Church and Family' on your check, and, I will see that all funds get divided appropriately.  The church, I and my family, as well as to those to whom we reach out, will be sincerely grateful for anything you can do to help.  

Please accept my sincerest thanks....and may God bless you!

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Church of the Holy Spirit

and sent to

Church of the Holy Spirit

P.O. Box 86076

Tucson, Arizona

85754-6076

If you have any questions, we can be reached at:

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As we grow, you will have options for allocating your gifts.

In the meantime, we hope you will trust us to direct them to where the need is the greatest.

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    One last thing....

 Jesus' Prayer of Thanksgiving

'The Unforced Rythms of Grace'

 "Abruptly Jesus broke into prayer:  "Thank you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth.  You've concealed your ways from sophisticates and know-it-alls, but spelled them out clearly to ordinary people.  Yes, Father, that's the way you like to work."

Jesus resumed talking to the people, but now tenderly.  "The Father has given me all these things to do and say.  This is a unique Father - Son operation, coming out of Father and Son intimacies and knowledge.  No one knows the Son the way the Father does, nor the Father the way the Son does.  But I'm not keeping it to myself; I'm ready to go over it line by line with anyone willing to listen."

"Are you tired?  Worn out?  Burned out on religion?  Come to me.  Get away with me and you'll recover your life.  I'll show you how to take a real rest.  Walk with me and work with me - watch how I do it.  Learn the unforced rhythms of grace.  I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn how to live freely and lightly.

  Matthew 11:  25-30

  The Message

And the people said,

"Amen."

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I now write most prayers in the position of ' I ' (first person) because most people are sitting at their computer alone, not in groups, and it allows those reading and praying to personalize the prayer as coming from them going to God.  Variations may appear on holidays when families may wish to use the prayer provided.

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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright 1996.  Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189.  All rights reserved.

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