"Encouragement And Fellowship" (And Important Video by Pastor Jack Hibbs) - Inspirational Weekend

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[Makapu'u Lighthouse, Oahu, Hawaii]

The lighthouse is sometimes thought of by Christians as a symbol for our Savior, Jesus Christ, as most of you are very aware.  It has been mentioned on this blog previously.   The trail to this lighthouse is all uphill, but easy to hike for most.  It is about a 2 mile round trip.  

"Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I  am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life."   -  John 8:12

The way of Salvation by belief in Jesus as the Savior, and belief in His Resurrection, is not difficult.  A young child can understand salvation.   

What is difficult at times is the uphill climb to reach Jesus, so to speak. And once we go through trials, temptations, hardships, and suffering, we must remain on the trail and path to Him and with Him in order to follow Him in faith and follow in His footsteps. 

"Order my steps in thy word: And let not any iniquity have dominion over me."  -  Psalm 119:133

"Hold up my goings in thy paths, that my footsteps slip not."   - Psalm 17:8

As mentioned in the above Psalm 119, God's Holy Word, the Bible, will help us to understand what it means to be a follower of Jesus.  The Bible is God's love letter to us, as well as His instruction manual for us.  He speaks to us as we read His written Word and we will appreciate and be grateful to Him and Jesus for their love and guidance and tender mercies. Jesus showed His great love for us by dying in our place and paying our sin debt so that we may gain eternal life by faith in Him.

Talk about encouragement and fellowship:  The most important fellowship ever is to be found with our heavenly Father and with Jesus when we read the Bible and pray without ceasing.  When we have a close, personal, intimate love relationship with God through Jesus Christ, His Son, He will always be near us to comfort us, encourage us, strengthen us, and we will experience a love like none other.  God loves it when we draw near to Him, and He will never abandon us.  (Hebrews 13:5; Deuteronomy 31:6)

"He that hath My commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth Me, and he that loveth Me shall be loved of My Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him."  -   Jesus speaking at John 14:21

What this article is leading up to now is the fact that we need to associate with and have fellowship with other believers. Most of us are familiar with Hebrews 10:24, 25 which follows:

(24) "And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works:  (25) Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching."

The good Lord takes note of our trust and belief in Him , as well as our actions and our speech.

"Then they that feared the LORD spake often one to another: and the LORD hearkened , and heard it, and a book of remembrance was written before Him for them that feared the LORD, and that thought upon His name."  -  Malachi 3:16

When Malachi wrote the above, Israel, as usual, was in disobedience to God.  But there were these few that feared God who spoke often, no doubt, to each other about the Lord.  See how God treats such persons: He paid attention to their words and faith and their hearts and approved of their pure attitude and conversation and a book of remembrance was written.   

The good Lord must also be pleased when true believers gather together and speak of Him and Jesus in our church services today, as well as in other gatherings.

We were not meant to be an island, keeping to ourselves.  

Remember, when Jesus sent His disciples in His own lifetime to preach the gospel, He sent them out by twos.  What the apostles needed in their journeys as preachers, we need equally on our journey through life.  We today need the love and encouragement and spiritual support of other believers.  I thank the good Lord for my loving church family.

All true believers know all that is mentioned above, but there may be some reading this that never attend church, and need the encouragement to do so.  

It is urgent that we encourage one another today, as the world has gotten more evil and corrupt.   The good news is that soon Jesus will Rapture His Bride (the Church) to be in heaven with Him.

Most of you are familiar with signs of the end times in which we find ourselves today.  We do not know the day or the hour of the Lord's return, but Jesus gave us signs to watch for so that we would know the "season" of His return.   Read Matthew 24, Mark 13, and Luke 21 for these signs.

I wanted to share with you a recent video concerning Bible prophecy by Pastor Jack Hibbs and Don Stewart.  They cover current events as it relates to the prophecies in the Bible, and Pastor Jack gives a wonderful concluding prayer at the end.  They tell us not to be scared by prophecies, but rather that they are to help you to be prepared.  They tell us that Russia just recently has moved super-bombers to South Africa;  there is much valuable information in this 1 hour and 29 minute video.  I hope you will be able to watch the entire discourse.

"While ye have light, believe in the light, that ye may be the children of light...."      -     Jesus at John 12:36 a

"For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." -    2 Corinthians 4:6

"But if we walk in the light, as He is in the light, we have fellowship one with another, and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanseth us from all sin."  -     1 John 1:7

Romans 10:9,10,13 tells us, (9) "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.  (10) For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. (13) For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved."

Have a blessed and Christ centered weekend.... and life !!