End-time Reflections (eBook)

Biblical Meditations in Preparation for the Second Coming of Jesus Christ

June S. Garcia (Autor)

eBook Download: EPUB

2025 | 1. Auflage
325 Seiten
Publishdrive (Verlag)
978-0-00-113574-1 (ISBN)

Infos

The worldwide dreadful outbreak of COVID-19 in late 2019 and the whole year of 2020.

The devastating eruption of the Cumbre Vieja volcanic ridge in

La Palma, Spain in September 2021.

The hostile war between Russia and Ukraine in February 2022.

The violent pummelling of Hurricane Ian in Florida, USA, in September 2022.

The freezing winter storm in Buffalo, New York, USA, in December 2022.

The massive 7.8-magnitude earthquake in Turkey in February 2023.

The media exposure in March 2023 of a Kenyan cult leader who was responsible for the mass suicide of more than 400 people by inciting them to starve to death as an expression of their faith that they would get to heaven more quickly by abstaining from eating.

The ravaging wildfires in Hawaii in August 2023.

These are only a few of the many signs that Jesus mentioned in the gospel of Matthew 2,000 years ago; crucial signs that inform and warn us that His glorious second coming is drawing near.

Moreover, like a pregnant woman who feels more frequent and more intense pain as her assumed date of delivery is fast approaching, so do the frequency and intensity of the occurrences of these signs which are divine indications of the very soon and the most-awaited return of our dearest Savior and King (Matthew 24:8; 1 Thessalonians 5:3).

For some, the second coming of Jesus is just a frenzied imagination or a silly idea, but for us who love His appearing, it is a hopeful reality and vibrant victory not only because Jesus promised it but also because all these signs are becoming more evident nowadays as they continue to fulfill biblical prophecies.

These have all been my inspiration in writing this book. May this book encourage and enlighten you to be always prepared and ready to meet Him face to face. Jesus deeply knew how much you suffered greatly from this hostile world and endured terribly from Satan's persecuting power for many years and now that He embraces you when He returns, He assures you that you will never cry nor suffer again.

Please come quickly, Lord Jesus.

 

     

Textauszug

THE GAMES OF SINS

 

Nothing in all creation is hidden from God’s sight. Everything

is uncovered and laid bare before the eyes of Him

to whom we must give account.

Hebrews 4:13

 

"Sorry seems to be the hardest word" is a familiar

adage in a famous song. I don't know exactly what memories come into play in your mind right now, but all I know is that in a world where ego rules, “sorry” is not only the hardest word but a word that is nowhere to be found in a dictionary. Sins are so dark and ugly that no one among us would accept his faults. Being found guilty is our ego's outside agenda. If possible, we leave no ground unprotected and we won't allow the consequences of sins to come in because we don't want to suffer from them in the first place.

When we refuse to admit our faults as early as we can,

we make our sins grow bigger and they ravage everything in their track. You will see that more innocent people will continue to suffer, even the unborn ones. This stubborn refusal at the onset of our sins unconsciously engages us in dirty games that started way back when Adam and Eve disobeyed God.

 

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HIDE AND SEEK. The Bible was very clear that when

Adam and Eve realized that they sinned against God, "they hid from the Lord God among the trees of the garden" (Genesis 3:8). Unfortunately, they could not hide from God forever and when God called them, their nakedness was exposed before the presence of God. How many among us today are hiding from the law because of the crimes we committed against God and humanity? How many among us today are wearing the mask of hypocrisy to conceal our deepest insecurities and cover our greatest heartaches in life? How many among us today have hidden some secrets in our lives and we don't want them to be exposed to our spouse, family, church, workplace, and the public?

THE BLAME GAME. When God pointed to Adam his

sins, Adam passed the ball of blame to Eve. When God questioned Eve, she threw the ball at the serpent. What Adam and Eve did was they created an unbreakable chain that continues to entangle us today and there seems to be no way to get out because we also blame others for our wrongdoings. How many of us today have already been in the habit of pointing our fingers at others when in fact we are the ones who are guilty of sin? How many of us today blame our spouse, parents, neighbors, friends, coworkers, and the government for the misfortunes we encountered in life? How many of us today have passed the charges to other people 33

when in fact we are the ones who are responsible and accountable for the violations that have been filed against us?

THE GAME OF EXCUSES. To prove that he was not

guilty, Adam made this excuse, "She gave me some fruit from the tree, and I ate it" (v.12). Adam was trying to explain to God that it was usually normal to receive food from his wife and it was already his custom to eat it. Likewise, Eve also made an excuse for herself that she was just only a victim of Satan's deception, "The serpent deceived me, and I ate" (v.13). For Adam and Eve, their excuses were something they expected that God would discharge their case but they were wrong. Their sins were an act of disobedience and they trampled His commandment in favor of the alluring offers of the serpent. How many of us today are involved in sex when our desperate need for money arises? How many of us today have been unfaithful as our body craves for sex in foreign places where we are a hundred miles away from our partners? How many of us today have been rejecting Jesus' free offer of salvation because we are busy people?

THE ESCAPADE. Hiding from God, blaming others,

and making excuses were Adam's and Eve's attempts to escape from the difficult situations they were involved with. Sad to say, no matter how they tried, they could not escape from the watchful eyes of God. How many of us today are forced to travel to other places to avoid the law enforcement 34

personnel who keep on hunting us? How many of us today have been involved in a hit-and-run accident wherein we leave our unconscious victims abandoned and helpless on the street? How many of us today have made a great escape from the unwanted responsibilities we caused?

THE GAME OF JUSTIFICATION. Adam and Eve made

a lot of efforts to prove to God that they were not guilty, but not to the point that they reasoned to God that what they did was right. When God finally revealed to them their sins despite all their hopeless attempts, they admitted them and accepted wholeheartedly His verdict. The truth was that it was Satan who was fond of justifying his sins. He always claimed that God was the one who was the antagonist and He was the one who caused all the woes and miseries of this world. Sad to say, we also embrace this attitude of Satan even to the extent that we consider today the sins we committed against God are not sins anymore as long as they give pleasure and satisfaction to our mortal bodies. The wrong that has been made right and the right that has been made wrong are the ugly games that we continue to play until now.

Our sins have caused us to play all these dirty games,

that for some may be pleasurable and entertaining, but in reality, we only multiply all the unpleasant consequences of sins that almost all of us continue to suffer. This world has lost many innocent lives already and we can't afford to lose them

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anymore, especially our young children and the younger generations and the next generations to come.

In all these games of sins we are all involved with, God

is always the all-knowing watchman who, at the end of the game, has triumphantly caught the guilty unguarded. Will you allow God to capture you in such a miserable state if you can say sorry and ask for forgiveness at the beginning or the middle of the game?

 

THE CYCLE OF SIN

 

But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his own

desires and enticed. Then, when desire has conceived,

it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth

death. Do not be deceived, my beloved brethren.

James 1:14-16

 

Sin is breaking God's laws and commandments

(Romans 2:23). It is also falling short of the glory of God (Romans 3:23). Moreover, Apostle James describes it as a cycle, "But each one is tempted when he is drawn away by his desires and enticed. Then when desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, brings forth death" (James 1:14-15).

 

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The latter definition of sin gives us an explanation of

why there are too many people today who are so hooked up with their sins that they find them difficult to get rid of. Sins are so enslaving that it seems as if people can't live without them. This is so far Satan's best strategy that every person must be aware of.

DESIRES. These are the starting points of all sins.

When Satan wants to tempt us, his first target is our desires. The moment that we are drawn away by our desires and enticed, the more likely we are to sin (James 1:14). This is what Satan did to Adam and Eve. If only they do not have the desire to be like God and the desire to know good and evil, then the power of Satan to tempt them weakens and he walks away from their presence defeated. Our desire may be in the form of money, power, fame, or pleasure, but it is still better to desire God more than anything else that this world can offer. The psalmist proclaims, "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want" (Psalm 23:1). If you do not want to walk farther into sin for you not to regret someday, then you must control your wants for money, power, fame, or pleasure, but instead make Jesus as your heart's greatest desire.

THOUGHTS. This is where all our desires reside. This

is also where we accumulate and entertain them. Every time we nurtured them into believing that they are pleasurable, legitimate, and necessary despite the Holy Spirit's convictions

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that they are rebellion against God, they will become a ticking bomb that will explode anytime into action.

ACTIONS. The Bible says that once our desire is

conceived in our thoughts, it will lead to action. Likewise, psychology underscores that our action is directly connected to our thoughts. These two are inseparable because whatever our mind dictates, we do it in our actions.

HABITS. Our repeated actions will create a habit.

Honestly, I read several articles asserting that it takes 21 days only for our action to develop into a habit. This is a very short period but it is heartbreaking to see that some people died at a young age (James 1:15) because of their uncontrollable vice and bad habits — an early death that God has never intended. Whether it is an addiction to alcohol, drugs, cigarettes, computer games, promiscuous sex with your unmarried partners, or acts of stealing some money from the government’s coffers, it must be controlled and stopped as early as possible because it can do more harm than good to you and others.

CHARACTER. Our habits will form our character. We

can know a person based on his habits. A basketball player loves to tell about his experiences in basketball and how those basketball superstars he admired most have influenced and motivated him. A music lover finds delight in listening to or watching music videos and it is no longer a surprise when 38

we see him singing with musical instruments in his hands. A computer enthusiast is fond of sharing with us all the latest gadgets and the seemingly never-ending releases of new technology in...

Produkt-Details

• Erscheint lt. Verlag: 17.7.2025
• Sprache: englisch
• Themenwelt: Geisteswissenschaften ► Religion / Theologie ► Christentum
• ISBN-10: 0-00-113574-0 / 0001135740
• ISBN-13: 978-0-00-113574-1 / 9780001135741