Bible Study #13 - What Happens after Jesus Comes?

This was an interesting study for me as I learnt a lot of facts that I didn't know before.

The bible talks about a 1000-year period that is often reffered to as the millenium. This 1000-year period commences with the second coming of Jesus. It's about justice and judgement - when wrongs will be righted, accounts settled, rewards give and the intense longings that are common to most of us will be satisfied. It's about the vindication, clearing God of Satan's false charges. Gos will bring sin and suffering to an end. When he does, everything in the universe will know and testify that God is just and fair.

These are the interesting things that I learnt in this study:

• The righteous dead will be resureccted at the start of the 1000 years and will reign with Christ
• The righteous living will be taken to heaven and will also reigh for 1000 years with Christ
• The unrighteous dead will not be resucrectted until the end of this 100 year period
• Satan will be chained at the start of this thousand year period and be forced to wander the earh without anyone to tempt.
• The unrighteous living will call to the mountains and the rocks to fall of them to them from the face of Jesus and the scond coming
• During the 1000 years all judgements will be read and God will be declared Just and Fair
• At the end of the 1000 years the people who chose to go against God will ahve to give an account of their lives, they will recieve the consequences of their actions
• Satan and the Sinners will be destroyed
• Earth will be cleansed and renewed by fire

After learning all of this I wonder why people can't jsut have faith! Admittedly, you can be blinded by ignorance, Satan blinds people by showing the false truths.. he's very good at it

But that time will soon be at an end!

Please join me in praying for Him to come soon!

Natures

One of my favorite stories that Pr Dave tells is about an old man on the bank of river, the old man is looking out over the river and he notices that there is a scorpian drowing in the river, thrashing around triyng for all it's worth to learn to swim at that moment in it's life, the chances don't look good (you can't teach an old scorpion new trick, huh?)

So the man makes the decision to save the scorpion, he reaches out and puts his hand under the scorpian to pull it out of water, as soon as he touches it, the scorpions stings. The Old Man curses and drops the scorpion in the water, this happens several more times, until the man just sttels himself and lifts the scorpion out of the water, it stings him several times before he gets a chance to place it on the ground.

Watching this chain of events has been a young man, standing above the Old Man on a bridge and he yells out;
"You old fool, you should have let it die, now it will go on to sting many more people"
To which the old Man replied;
"The scorpians nature to sting, does not change my nature save."


This story made me think so very much the first time I heard it, I'm a sucker for returning to someone after they've hurt me, and I have never understood why.

I have to help people. Like spending hours in a bar I don't want to be in, just so my friends can get a life home, or staying up for horus to help someone with a project, or let them talk to me about their problems.

Don't get me wrong, I love to do these things, but i've had this thought just now,

Are thre only two types of people in the world;

Stingers and Savers?

Bible Study #12 - The Second Coming of Jesus

A few months ago, over a late night snack at Mcdonalds a friend expressed to me his desire for Christ to return, he asked to pray with him for it, and pray fervently, because he was sick of wordly desires. This got me thinking about the second coming of our savior, and, as a new christian I was incredibly overwhelmed, i's hard enough for me to recognise my wordly influences and temptations and not give in to them, let alone thinking about a time when there won't *be* any worldy desires.

How will we recognise our Messiah? What if I make the wrong choice...

For many will come in my name claiming "I am the messiah" and will decieve many(Matthew 24:5)

False Prophets

• Sun Myung Moon - leader of the Korean Unification Church, prophesied that the "kingdom of heaven would materialise in 1967"
• Jim Jones - Predicting doomsday, persuaded 900 plus followers to drink poisoned Kool-Aid in 1978
• Moses David - Children of God Evangelist predicted that the battle of armageddon would take place in 1986, with Russia defeating the U.S and seeting up a global communist doctatorship
• David Koresh - gun-toting, ex-rock singer forecated that the battle of armageddon would begin in his self-styled Ranch Apocalypse in Waco, Texas. It did, in a blaze of gunfire in 1993 between his Branch Davidians and government agents.
• Marshall Herff Applewhite - Heaven's Gate leaderm convinced his techno-religious cult in march 1997 that the end was near and the only way they could curvive was by commitinh suicide and hitching a ride on an alien spaceship.

How can we avoid such deceptive cults are the end days come to a close and we get more and more desperate for our Saviour to return?

It will be visible

Look he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those pierced him; and all the peoples of the earth will mourn because of him (Revelation 1;7)

It will be audible

And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other (Matthew 24:31)

It will be public

See, I have told you ahead of time. So if anyone tells you "There he is, out in the desert," do not go to out; or "here he is, in the inner rooms," do not believe it. For as lightning that comes from the east is visible even in the west, so will be the coming of the Son of Man. (Matthew 24: 25-27)

It will be glorious

When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. (Matthew 25:31)

With all the signs that have been described, how will people fooled? Will I be one of those people? Will I be fooled by a false Messiah?

Jesus is coming to take his followers to heaven and to deliver us from evil and suffering.

...He will seperate the people one from another as the shepard sepeartes the sheep from the goats. (Matthew 25:32)

When people truly accept what Jesus has done for them in paying for their sins and crediting them with His perfect life, then they are ready for heaven. We become citizens of heaven the moment we accept what Jesus has done for us. If we are citizens then we have all the rights of citizens. This uncludes the right to go to heaven when He comes .

"It's the end of the world as we know it and I feel fine" (R.E.M - new adventures in Hi-Fi)

I'm unsure as to what R.E.M meant by this song but for those who trust in Jesus the second coming is the end of the world as wel know it... and we feel fine.

Are you ready to accept the end of your worldy temptations...

I know I am...

Test of strength

His name is Matt... He goes to school with me.

The most redeeming feature about Matt would be that he worships the ground i walk on... adn that's is always good for a girl... it makes one think they're actually worth something, and considering my history with the male species (no offence intended), it's nice to know that someone likes me and thinks I'm beautiful and would do anything for me...

HOWEVER

I don't have the same feelings back for Matt, but a huge test of faith came for me this week when I was given an oppurtunity to take advantage of his feelings for me. To just have a boyfriend to do everything for me, which would be nice... but wrong... so so wrong.

I remember less than a year ago a girl who would have done just that, and enjoyed doing it, enojyed hurting his heart...

What does a girl do in this situation, in not wanting to hurt him by using him, I'm hurting him by not having the same feelings for him...

This game sucks...
SJ

Bible Study #11 - God's window in to the future

We are based upon one tree,
All my friends and me.
The wind is blowing strong,
I'm not lasting long,
the dying tree is read,
It's spinning in my head.
Time is going fast
I know I'll never last.

This poem was written by a primary school child when asked about what they felt the future held.

Pretty bleak huh?

A survey of 500 sydney teenagers found that the average adolescent thought the world was "going down the gurgler".

"[The] fundamental failing of modern western culture [is] the absence of a shared ideal of vision of our society and it's furutre, a vision that nutures and nourishes the individual and help to hold a society together"

Without Hope Human Beings can't survive

Six Hundred years before the birth of Christ, God gave the world a startling glimpse into the future through the prophet Daniel. He presented an outline of world history. The prophecy appeasrs in the second chapter of daniel and originated in a dream God gave Nebuchadnezzar, the king of Babylon, over 2600 years ago. The dream troubled the monarch and he summoned his wise men saying "tell me what I dreamt and the meaning of the dream", but of course, they couldn't tell the king what he had dreamt, and withoutthat knowledge, the couldn't tell him what it meant. He ordered them to be killed. A young hebrew slave named Daniel calimed that the God of heaven could reveal all mysteries and he told the king of his dream.

You looked, O King, and there before you stood a large statue -an enormous, dazzling, statue, awesome in appearance . (Daniel 2:31-35)

Daniels interprtations and prophecies have all proven to be true... He predicted that the statue that Nebuchadnezaar dreamt about respresented the kingdoms that would prevail until the second coming of Jesus. Babylon was the head of Gold, which would be overthrown by the combined forces of Medes & Persia who were the chest of Silve,r in turn they would be overthrown by Greece (lead by Alexander the Great) who were the thighs of bronze. Greece would be overthrown by Rome, who were the legs of Iron. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, The 10 nations would not be re-united by no-one, these were the feet of Iron and Clay.

Many leaders have tried to re-unite europe, for example Hitler.. none have been succesful...

How did he know?


This bring me to another point!

The Prophecy Seminars!

I'm designing for these seminars, which will commence on Obtober 1st! These seminars are going to be intriguing and so interesting!

www.howdidheknow.com

www.blogspot.howdidheknow.com

Check them all out!

Bible Study #10 - I will never leave you

Surely I am with you always, to the the very end of the age. (Matthew 28:20)

Thats a pretty HUGE promise... and a promise that only one person in the history of the world has been able to make.. and keep. And that person is Jesus Christ.

The problem with society today is that we have no guidance. Nothing to apsire to, No one figurehead to unite us and show us how we should live. Jeus sent the Holy Spirit to guide us, but what of those who don't accept Christs gift?They wander, lost, alone and with nothing to stop them accepting the harmful temptations put before them. They have no one to model their lives. Sin begets Sin, once you've started, there seems to be no stopping. The Holy Spirit is a person with a mind (Romans 8:27), can teach (Luke 12:12), feels grief when we sin (Ephesians 4:30) and directs chruch affairs (Acts 13:2)

The Holy Spirit Can:

• Guide us in Life
• Give a new beginning and direction in life
• Speak to God for us
• Give Spiritual Gifts
• Help Us share Jesus
• Help us develop Christ-like qualities
• Give Spiritual Strength

In accepting Jesus Christ as our saviour, we accpt the gifts that he has bestowed upon us, one such gift is the guidance of The Holy Spirit.

Am I ready to accept that gift?

Bible Study #9 - You can Talk to God

Prayer...

It's one of the most powerful tools that we have in the world, as Christians. Prayer is talking to God as a friend.

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)

Have any of your prayers been answered lately? Have you asked anything of God? Have you given thanks for all that you ahve recieved from God? Jesus makes it pretty clear that we will receive what we ask for as long as it is within God's plan for us. People see prayer as something to be done before we go to bed and in church on sabbath, but is this right? Why can't we pray whenever, where ever we want. How hard is it to give a silent prayer or thank-you to God as move through our day? I've found that these small prayers are the ones that get me through my day, and these small prayers seem to be the ones that are answered.

For example, and this is something so small:

I lost my mobile phone, it get to about 11 this morning and I havne't seen it for over 24 horus, I'm starting to panic, i rip apart my house, my car and my desk at school and every room that I've been in over the last 5 days... nothing... I panic and get pretty stressed about where it's going to be, in the midst of all this I stop, close my eyes and say in my head "God, please help me", 15 minutes later I find my mobile phone nestled in a tight little corner in my car, buzzing happily to itself because of all the missed calls. I mouth a grateful thank-you to God and keep going throughout my day.

Isn't that they way you would treat a close friend who you know will be there for you no matter what? You don't impose on them and babble to them every second of the day, instead there are periods of comfortable silence and you talk to them when you need too, when you really can't fix the problem yourself and you need the help to keep going.

You may ask anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:14)

What sort of things should you pray for? EVERYTHING, in my studies so far the biggest thing I've learnt is that Jesus gives all that he can for us, in fact, he gives everything for us. He gave his life so that we could be a part of something that we don't deserve! I think this is also something to pray for!

Things I pray for:
Good Health
Wisdom
My family
My friends
The ability to cope with my pain

Things I give thanks for:
Finally seeing and accepting Jesus Christ
Jesus' Sacrifice for me
The BIG things in my life
And the tiniest things in my life
And everything inbetween

Interesting...

Person 1:

A 20 year old male who has a promising career coming up in the IT industry, everything is going you're wey, you're stable, financially independant and on top of all your debts. You see yourself heading a big company in 10 years time, alll directions point that way.
Very recently a friend of yours has become different, she's changed, made a life decision and has been talking it pver with you, you don't approve, she seems to be throwing away ambitions because they're twoo selfish and she wants to help people out. Volunteer work.. you know.. work that doesn't pay the bills... works that does't give you a nice car or a place to live. Ambitions that no longer seem to benefit her. He is proud in the fact that his ambitions will have him wealthy and comfortable, never hungry and never a late bill, a good place to raise children where they will not know what it's like to have to watch their money, but he will smother them with everything they could possibly want...

Person 2:

Mentioned girl, wants to travel, get a degree, help people, have a family, work etc etc etc... but how does she do all this? How does she get the support? She wants to be stable, as a basic need, she's not fussed if she's rich as long as she canfeed herself and help a few people out.. that's a fine life for her. Her 10 year goal is to be married with a small family, bringing them up with good values and lots of love. She is constantly questioning her goals, she doesn't want to get stuck in a rut, become completly self-involved and forget that there is a world out ther beyond her world. A world where there is suffereing and hunger and evil.

She wants to help.

Now tell me...

Who would you rather be?

Bible study #8 - "get in the wheelbarrow"

I think final story in this bible study defines it completely:

Charles Blondin was the pseudonym of Jean Francois Gravelet (1824-97), French acrobat and tightrope walker. His career as an acrobat began when he was about 6 years old, and he quickly won acclaim for his daring performances, becoming known as the "Little Wonder". Outstanding among his hazardous feats were his exhibitions, in 1859 and 1860, on a 335.3 m long tightrope stretched 48.8m about Niagra Falls. Blondin varied his act, crossing the falls blindfolded, while pushing a wheelbarrow. With a man on his back and even while balancing on stilts.

The Story is told of him turning to the crown before on of His Niagra Falls crossings and asking: "Who believes I can walk across blindfolded, wheeling a wheelbarrow?" One man stepped forward, "I believe you can do it Blondin!"
"alright," said Blondin, "then get in the wheelbarrow!" I don't think the man did. But that's the real test of faith.

Am I ready to get in Jesus' wheelbarrow?

The Passion of The Christ

I've been eagerly anticipating wathcing this movie, I lay-by'd it a couple of weeks ago and picked it up today.

TOTAL DEVASTATION...


there are no more words.

Thank-you Lord for doing what you did.

Picture this...

It's dark, you have a tiny light to show you the way and all around you are people taunting you, calling you names and mocking you, leading you away from your light, eventually these people lead you away, showing you a way to stop their taunting. You go with them, anything to stop the taunting.

You're lead to a place where everything is bright, there is food and drink, gold lines the walls and there are pretty boys (or girls, depending on your sex and preference) everywhere. Everything feels good and everyone wants YOU! and I mean wants you, you feel invincible!

SUDDENLY

Everything goes black, the voices are back, but there is no light... it's nowhere to be seen and you have nowhere to go, everyting feels back, people are scratching at you, hitting you, hurting you. You can't escape the feeling, you wish you could die to stop the pain.

THEN

You see someone they're carrying the light and fighting to get towards you, they show you the light and the word and leads you to a safe place and everything is well again. The voices are still there, taunting, leading you back to the place where they dwell, but the light is strong and bright and surrounds you.

Reality check:

For me, this story has been my life. I was taken away from faith at a young age, too young and it's taken years to get it back. For me, it took only one person to help repair the damage done by many. One person to guide me to the light, when this person appeared in my life it was, literally, a Godsend. They guided me to the light and I reached out and accepted that light into my life. And while peopel still mock me and taunt me and let me down, I have Jesus, I have one person who loves me unconditionally, loves me in a way no human being can, no matter how hard they try.

Thank-you. Thank-you for guiding me to the light.

Bible Study #7 - Aquitted

There is no one righteous, not even one. For all have sinned and fall short of the Glory of God (Romans 3:10)

This is pretty gloomy huh? It's like "Oh... well I'll never be good enough so I may as well not try right?"

WRONG!

Through Christ's sacrifice we can be SAVED! SALVATION MY FRIENDS! Oh wow... Salvation... Is this something I deserve?

We live in a fallen world that has lost connection with God. The Bible says we're all guilty - that is, we all fall short of Gods standards and that we'll have to give an account of ourselves one day. One what basis can sinners stand before God and be aquitted? It's a sobering question... the good news is that it can happen!

God's standard is nothing short of perfect, it's higher than we can ever imagine!

HOWEVER!

The teaching of salvation being freely available by grace, through faith, is there and it's TRUE! It is a gift from God. When we accept Jesus and what he has done for us, we reciever that gift of eternal life!

When faced with the problem of Sin, God had three possible options:

1. To uphold the law and allow sinners to suffer the consequences - a broken relationship that results in death. God's mercy wouldn't allow hm this option because He loved us too much. Think of how a parent feels about a wayward child...

2. To forgive sinners and disregard his law. God's justice wouldn't allow this option, as it would result in chaos in the universe . On a samller scale, imagine what would happen if people were allowed to disregard the road rules when driving...

3. The third option is the only one that satisfies both God's justice and mercy. He would pay the pentaly for our disobedience, thus upholding the law and at the same time forgiving us!

I, personally, like the third option!

Jesus bridged the chasm that seperates us from God, he also carries us across. From his sacrifice we are considered righteous. Jesus' perfect life stands in place of our life and we're accepted before just as if we'd never sinned!

The Story is told of a big African slave in America who was up for sale. How inhuman can people get, that they can sell a fellow human being as one would sell a farm animal. Well this slave still has some dignity left. He decided that he'd had enough - he would never work again. As he was being displayed before the buyers and they made their bids he should he rasied his chained hands "I WON'T WORK!". One man persisted in bidding as others, realising they would have difficulty wiht this man, dropped out. He was sold to this man.

As the big black man was led to his new owner he shouted at him, "I TELL YOU I WON'T WORK!" The new owner then replied "That's all right I bought you to set you free." The African couldn't belive his ears, he sank to his knees as his chains were removed and said to his owner "I'll work for you for the rest of my life!"

Why would the man choose to work for the rest of his life when he was given freedom?