"How To Become Full Of Joy" - Inspirational Weekend

My cactus above bloomed beautifully again the end of January and the first of February this year.  It is always a thrill and a joy to admire its beauty as it only blooms once a year as a rule, although last year it bloomed twice.   Double treat !  But joy such as these soon to fade blossoms bring is rather fleeting and short lived.   True joy comes from the Lord and is yours forever !

Joy is fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22).  You have to be regenerated, born again, in order to have the Holy Spirit living within you and thereby produce fruit of the Spirit, of which joy is one.   When you stop the lust of the flesh and worldly desires (with the help of the Holy Spirit), you have the joy of knowing you please the Lord and the joy resulting from a clean conscience.  

"And be renewed in the spirit of your mind; and that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness."  -  Ephesians 4:23-24

"Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Spirit."  -  Romans 15:13

So to have true joy, we need Jesus as our Savior, to cleanse us and wash us white as snow.  There is joy in the Savior, and joy in knowing you have a heavenly hope.   Before I was converted, there was not any joy to speak of.   Oh , sure, fleeting moments of happiness, but they soon passed.  I have shared with you before how I used to worry constantly, and worry will definitely steal your joy. Thanks to the Lord now, even in the midst of trials, there is still joy for me because I have learned to focus on God and Jesus and I am so grateful for all He has done in my life and in my heart and soul and mind.   That is another key to being full of joy, to have a thankful heart and attitude .

The above image says it all.   So many people are so self-centered and so self-absorbed that they don't take time for Jesus or for other people.  

"The out-and-out Christian is a joyful Christian.  The half-and-half Christian is the kind of Christian that a great many of you are,,,,,,little acquainted with the Lord.  Why should we live halfway up the hill and swathed in the mists, when we might have an unclouded sky and a radiant sun over our heads if we would climb higher and walk in the light of His face."  -  Alexander Maclaren

Below is an old song that makes you joyful just to listen to it,

"Joy is the serious business of heaven."  -  C. S. Lewis

This all reminds me of that quote attributed to Abraham Lincoln, "Most people are about as happy as they make up their minds to be."  There is much truth in that, but for true joy you need Christ in your life.   You then will lead a more holy life and have a closer, personal and intimate relationship with God through Jesus Christ.   What joy !   I intend to do a post here soon about "Holiness", as it is so very important to the Christian in order to see heaven.

Below is a sermon on becoming full of joy by Charles Haddon Spurgeon 

Jesus speaking at John 16:22,  "And ye now therefore have sorrow:  but I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you."

"True or False Conversion? - How to Tell Which" - Inspirational Weekend

"Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves.  Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?  -  2 Corinthians 13:5

A reprobate is one who is a hardened sinner, a scoundrel, and one who is cast off by God.   It is said that about 80 to 90% of new converts to the Christian faith fall away and leave the faith, primarily because they were not truly converted in the first place.  They may have sincerely believed they were converted,  but were sadly mistaken   They were not taught about the ten commandments and how guilty they were and therefore in need of the Savior Jesus.    If they are not convicted of how guilty a sinner they are, they feel no true remorse and do not truly repent; so it is easy to slip back into sin again.   The sad thing is, most of these false converts think they are truly saved.  Another sad thing is that often they are very worldly and their loose conduct causes the world to think all Christians are hypocrites.  

It is one thing to be a new "babe in Christ" and make mistakes, and another thing to sin without remorse.   A true Christian, when he sins, is saddened by his conduct and feels convicted by the Holy Spirit and will repent and make changes to live more of a godly life.  A true Christian does not make a practice of sin; they do not live in sin. The Holy Spirit is given to those that obey God  (Acts 5:32). If a person feels no conviction when he sins, then he may not even be born again.   In other words, the Holy Spirit is not living in that person at all.

A false convert will likely be guilty of things such as the following:  "Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you  before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God."  (Galatians 5:19-21).

"By this shall all men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another."  -  Jesus speaking at  John 13:35 .  Love for people, especially of other believers, is a mark of a true Christian, a true convert.   That would mean you would not gossip about or slander anyone, and that you would always display the fruit of the Spirit which is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, and temperance.   (Galatians 5:22-23)  

A true Christian will not love the world and be consumed in its pleasures and lusts, and will watch his associations carefully.   "Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God?  whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God."    -  James 4:4 .    That is pretty plain and is a warning.   See the warning signs in my photograph above?  They are warning of turbulent waters and to be careful ... there may even be rip tides.   The Bible gives us warnings and signs to obey and follow for our own good, and we would be wise to heed them.   The Bible is God's Love Letter to us and also His Instruction Manual.   Yet there are many professing Christians who never read God"s Word; they are spiritually illiterate and therefore weak in faith and not on fire for Jesus.   They live day by day in a spiritual vacuum, never asking God for direction and seldom praying, if at all.   WAKE UP!    Time is short!  Jesus will return soon and so many people are not ready and are not watching for Him like they should.   

"I believe hundreds of Christian people are being deceived by satan now on this point, that they have not got the assurance of salvation just because they are not willing to take God at His Word."  - 

D. L. Moody   

"There was a day when I died, died to self, my opinions, preferences, tastes and will;  died to the world, its approval or censure;  died to the approval or blame even of my brethren or friends; and since then I have studied only to show myself approved unto God."  -  George Mueller

A true Christian, as a follower of Christ, will endeavor to imitate Him.  "He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also to walk, even as He walked."  -  1 John 2:6

Following is a You Tube video about  True and False Conversion by Ray Comfort.

Another video that relates to what we have discussed here is below.   It is titled "Hell's Best Kept Secret" and Ray Comfort and the actor Kirk Cameron share biblical truths.

I hope you take the time to view these two videos.   They are excellent for guidance for yourself and for leading others to Jesus.  I am sure you will agree that we live in perilous times now, and even though I am keenly interested in Bible prophecy, I realize the Great Commission of preaching the Gospel is what Jesus told us to do.   (Matthew 28:19-20)   Let us be busy in the Lord's work in these end times we find ourselves living in. 

"Hereby know we that we dwell in Him, and He in us, because He hath given us of His Spirit."

- 1 John 4:13 

"The Mark of the Beast - 666 - And How to Avoid It" - Inspirational Weekend with Videos

"And 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: And 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.   Here 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."  -  Revelation 13:16-18

The above Bible verses are referring to the Antichrist (the beast) who will appear during the 7 year Tribulation period, which occurs sometime after the Rapture of the Church. That statement right there gives you a clue how to escape taking the Mark of the Beast.   More on that later in this post.  

"Anti" means to be against or opposed to; the Antichrist is opposed to Jesus Christ.  Did you know the Bible says there are many antichrists in the world, back in the apostle John's day as well as today? Those of you who are familiar with the Scriptures could probably name one or two today that fit that description.   1 John 2:18 says, "Little children, it is the last time: and as ye have heard that antichrist shall come, even now are there many antichrists; whereby we know that it is the last time."  See also 2 John 7: "For many deceivers are entered into the world, who confess not that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh.   This is a deceiver and an antichrist."   But these antichrists are not the same as the Antichrist.   

But what does 666 mean?   The number 6 is thought to be the number of man.  The Bible often repeats things 3 times for emphasis.  I have heard it (the number 666) explained to mean  "imperfection to the third degree".   In Greek as well as in Hebrew, the letters of the alphabet also may stand for numbers, which makes it possible to add up numbers for every name.     The apostle John, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, may have intended the number 666 to be a mystery.  If you have kept up with these things, that number has been applied to several people in the past, including President Ronald Reagan.    Food for thought:  in some ancient Greek manuscripts of Revelation,  the number is written as 616 instead of 666.

To take the Mark of the beast is to give your allegiance to the Antichrist.   So the eternal destiny of those who take the Mark so that they may buy or sell is to spend all eternity in the lake of fire.  Taking the Mark of the Beast (the Antichrist) is the same as worshiping Satan, who is the one who gives the Antichrist his power; in fact the Antichrist is possessed by Satan. So if a person takes the Mark he cannot be forgiven.  To escape hell, you must not take the Mark.  That means you will either starve to death as you will not be able to buy or sell, or that you will be killed.  (Revelation 13:15).   The other key to avoiding the Mark of the Beast is to give your life to Jesus; repent and believe on Jesus and His resurrection (Romans 10:9-10).  If you do that right now, you will not be here during the 7 year Tribulation period.   You will have previously been Raptured to heaven some time before the Tribulation.   Believe me, the horror and the destruction and the plagues and disasters during the Tribulation time will be terrible beyond your imagination; you do not want to be here for that.  Just read the book of Revelation for all of the judgments to come upon those left behind , as well as upon the earth itself.  

Many in the know believe the Mark will be either an RFID (Radio Frequency Indentification  microchip) or possibly a tattoo of some kind on the right hand or the forehead, which stores all information about you and will enable the Antichrist to enforce his powers over the economy as well as other things.   This technology is available now.   It is only a matter of time.

Supposedly, by Agenda 2030 (Google this), the UN plans to have universal biometric identification for all humanity by the year 2030.

Below is an interview with Billy Crone concerning the Mark of the Beast.

It is good to know about what is in store during the Tribulation period, even if you are a true believer and know you will be raptured before that terrible time occurs.    For one, we can tell others about the horrors of that time so they will want to avoid it and turn to Jesus in repentance and with a new heart set on God and Jesus and His will.     If you keep up with Bible Prophecy at all, you will realize that events happening right now, especially in the Middle East, were all prophesied in Ezekiel 38 and 39, and Psalm 83 and Isaiah 17 and many other places in the Word of God.  So time is short.  The Rapture could happen at any moment.  I hope you watch the video above for more information and, if you have time, below is a longer playing video chock full of even more detailed information on the universal matrix  that is leading up to this Mark of the Beast.

"And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself shall be with them, and be their God.  And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain:  for the former things are passed away."

Revelation 21:3-4

"Be Alert and Be Ready" - Inspirational Weekend

"Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh."       -      Matthew 25:13

Are you ready for the Rapture?  Ready for when Jesus takes His Bride, the Church, true believers, to Heaven right before the seven year tribulation period of horror and judgement and destruction occurs to the left behind ungodly people?   "Give me a break!" some of you may be saying, "The word rapture is not even in the Bible."    Yes it is, in the Latin Vulgate Bible by Jerome in the early 400's !  There the Latin word "Raeptius  or "Rapio" is where the English word "Rapture" developed from.  It means to "seize, snatch, caught up, tear away. "  Rapture in Greek is the word "Harpazo", which means to be taken away or being carried away, to "snatch up" or a "catching away."  This is clearly taught in Scripture:

"For the Lord Himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God:  and the dead in Christ shall rise first: then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."  -  1 Thessalonians 4:16-17

The Rapture is not the same as the Lord's Second Coming.  The Rapture happens before the 7 year tribulation and, at the Rapture, the Lord comes "in the clouds" to meet us "in the air."  1 Thessalonians 4:17.     At the Second Coming, which occurs at the end of the 7 year Tribulation period,  the Lord descends all the way to the earth and stands on the Mount of Olives.   This results in a great earthquake, which is followed by a defeat of God's enemies.   Zechariah 14:3-4

The day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night to unbelievers.   (1 Thessalonians 5:2).  But those who know Christ as their Savior will be alert and ready and watching for His return.  That is the key:  you have to be a born again believer in the Savior to be ready and alert and to be raptured.  Don't just be a Christian in name only; have a close intimate personal relationship with God and Jesus, and the way to do that is by much prayer and Bible study.  You don't want to be in the position of not being truly saved and have Jesus say to you, "Truly I say to you, I never knew you."

Read your Bible and interpret it literally.   There are over 300 prophecies about the first coming of Jesus (2000 years ago), all of which were literally fulfilled.   So we can be sure the prophecies about the Rapture and His Second Coming will also be literally fulfilled.

Please listen to this lovely song titled "In His Time" :

"For He saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee.  Behold, now is the accepted time; behold now is the day of salvation."  -  2 Corinthians 6:2 .  Don't wait until tomorrow; it may be too late then.   

Did you know there is a crown waiting for all those who are longing for Jesus' return; a crown of righteousness.   2 Timothy 4:8.   Revelation 4:10 tells us that we will cast our crowns at Jesus' feet when we see Him.    

Following is a duet by Celine Dion and Josh Groban  "The Prayer":

Remember, a person who knows and trusts God is free from anxiety and worry concerning the future.  "Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee."   -  Isaiah 26:3

"Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;"  -  Titus 2:13