Do you hear it, that faint ticking, that ever-present ticking sound? Where is it coming from? Why is it here and what does it mean? People carelessly, and without thinking run to and fro wanting this and wanting that. You must wonder to yourself: “Why do they need all of this?” And still that ticking sound continues to sound within their ears. They tend to work harder, play harder — more and more as they work to drown out the sound; the origin of which they fail to find. “Oh, I know! It’s the apocalypse of 2012, December 21, right? Wrong! Then, what is it?

The pendulum continues to swing back and forth, ticking out the time in days, hours, and minutes. And there has been an alarm already set, according to the exact day, hour and minute, but which alarm? Who started this clock, what does the alarm mean and what is it that is going to happen at that special time? We heard the clock as it sounded the alarm for the beginning of every single conflict this earth has ever seen. Years ago it was almost unheard of, that barely audible ticking. Yet today, it resounds like Old Ben and the ticking is heard all around the globe.

Oh, we must get out and spend on “Black Friday.” Only now they have made things even easier by including Thanksgiving Day as part of Black Friday. All this rather than spending time with family and friends around the table, thanking the Lord for HIS blessings. Sunday is the time when we all should be in church worshiping the Lord, right? Everything is all boxed up and regimented in our little lives, six and one half days for whatever we want to do and come Sunday, we have a couple of hours for the Lord, right? Gosh! Ain’t life wonderful?

The Old Testament is in the Bible to teach us that everything is a decision, either for the Lord or for everything else that excludes the Lord. How simple it all is!

We divided our country on November 6, 2012 in an election and we all found out that the majority wants a dead-beat president. We have chosen to walk down this particular path and we have done so without the “perfect” will of God. We talk about politics, the conspiracy theories and yet we chose THIS particular path. We see the austerity measures taken in other countries and we never think that we maybe implementing those, very same measures for ourselves─one day, real soon.

We have taken the extra mile to allow the abortion of babies and we do so at will to make it easier on ourselves when our lascivious lives get us into trouble. We expect the American government to support our lives when we decide we no longer want to work, because working is “too difficult.” We arrogantly stand in the lines to receive our food stamps and welfare checks because we are, oh so deserving!

We no longer stand up for ourselves with a stiff backbone and make our way in this world on our own. We are now the type of people that expect more and more without regard to others who must foot the bill for our lives. Our children decide for themselves whether to attend school or not, never once considering their lives in years to come — failed parenting skills at the least! We have forgotten the rules set-forth by the people of “The Greatest Generation” and consider them to be, too restrictive. We are destroying all that they fought to bring benefit this country! The problem is, we have NO shame in doing so because we are now the “entitlement” nation.

We no longer want to do the right thing, we no longer hear of loyalties to each other, commitments of any kind and we have allowed the perversion of the Gay community. And now we see the statistics of HIV/AIDS increasing in our young people, young people that have no business playing these types of games to begin with. We allow them to die a most horrible death because the cost is too high and yet, the answer to the problem should have been instituted while they were very young, straight from the Bible.

Nope, we don’t want to read the Bible. It’s too old and out of date. It’s no longer relevant to the age we are living in, and besides that, it is too restrictive and convicts us of SIN!

Lord knows we can’t have that! We are individuals and we need to explore our horizons, delve into the forbidden and take part in the heresey toward God, because we don’t believe in a God that allows death, pestilence or drought! We don’t want to hear about the poverty stricken, whether here in the USA or abroad. We don’t want to have anything in our lives but joy and happiness, every hour of every day because we are, oh so deserving!

That ticking-clock continues on and on, almost a droning. By now we have become caloused to its sound and have learned to pay less attention to it, just like the violent movies we watch or the racy movies. There’s nothing better than a good dose of filth to make our day complete, learning more and more of how to desensitise ourselves to everything. And then when the proverbial lesson of life comes along and hits us squarely in the face, we think we have been wrongly used and shamed for no reason.

Has it ever crossed your mind why the housing debacle of the early 2008 happened? Read a little on it and see if it makes any sense to you. When our “wants” are greater than our “income” rears its ugly head, we never once take a look at the Bible to understand that this life is not about wealth or acquisition the of things!

Funny how “Halloween” has become more of a holiday than Thanksgiving and Christmas! It has become more important to get “stuff” without asking or truly needing and then we never think to be “thankful” for what we have already. We forget what the Bible says:

 

Psalm 103.1-5 : “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits:Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s” (emphasis mine).

In other words, we must walk with the Lord on a continuous basis, in faith we must live each and every day, according to the precepts as set down by the Lord God Almighty. As with everything else in this life it is a conscious decision that we must make─to follow the Lord in every way. And once again we see there is a simple question that is asked: Will we follow the Lord or not?

And the question actually runs deeper. Do we want everything we can get for 70-80 years or do we want life eternal in the glory of heaven? Notice here, that one is a very short period of time and the other is for eternity. Have you ever noticed the difficulties of a life with wealth, the painstaking truth of it shows in the etches of thier faces, the fact they never know who is a friend and who is truly a friend. The anxiety of acquiring wealth is paramount in their lives, yet everyone wants to be in their shoes.

Mark 10.21-25: “Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.

And Jesus looked round about, and saith unto his disciples, How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God! And the disciples were astonished at his words. But Jesus answereth again, and saith unto them, Children, how hard is it for them that trust in riches to enter into the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God”(emphasis mine).

How much longer are we going to be so self-centered, thinking only of what we want in the here and now and later miss the Rapture and experience the Tribulation? And as you die a horrible death at the hands of those that you thought were friends, where will you exist afterwards?

How have all your acquistions and wealth helped you so far? The answer is in the Bible─God’s holy Word to you and me! I wonder if you’ll consider that as you take your last breath, has your life been worth all of this so far? The Bible talks of the “spiritual” instead of the physical. It asks you to store up treasure in heaven than treasure in the here and now. If you had chosen to coinsider the “spiritual” more than the physical, where would you be headed, how would your life have been different?

We have insurance for our homes and our cars, even our lives, and it means we are endeavoring to be “sure” everything will be cared for or replaced if destruction comes along. Funny how we spend enormous amounts for that insurance and yet we seldom think about being “sure” about our spiritual lives and where we will be in eternity. In this physical life, everything except our spirit stays right here! So as the ticking continues in our heads, we finally understand, its a ticking time-bomb and its running down to zero!

Everyone is aware of it and no one is able to escape its final effect, except those that love the Lord our God with all their hearts, with all their strength. It is still the same question: Are you considering only for today in the here and now, or are you considering your eternity in tomorrow? The clock is still ticking away, time is very, very, short…Critical thinking is more important now than ever before. Jesus Christ is here for today, tomorrow and into eternity!

Jesus Christ is the ONLY way!!!

My dear friends, I have been writing for a while now. Not always here on Rapture Ready, but writing, nevertheless. And the Lord has been so gracious to me and has given so much to write. Sometimes I am not aware of where these writings are going as I begin. Sometimes I write an article and then go back later and reread it and I find I am so very surprised at what is there.

In a way, I can see the hand of the Lord directing what I write. Many times I am not thinking along the lines of what I have written and never know or fully understand it until I reread the article. It is truly amazing. Therefore, I want to say that it is NOT me─but the Lord. In these instances I wonder if the apostles had the same situation or at least along those lines of thought. I am not trying to equate myself to the apostles, but rather wondering what they were thinking as they wrote. So far this has been quite a roller-coaster ride.

I believe also that, I am learning more as I research for my articles. I read other articles by other writers. I watch some videos and sometimes understand what others are trying to convey in their particular medium. I never take anything away that I feel I should not or things that seem a little strange. I always take the Word of God and reference that with what I read or watch; one must be more than just careful. We are asked to verify all information against the Bible and see if it does indeed, walk the same line as God has set down.

This then makes research that much more “in-depth” and time consuming of which it matters little to me if it takes days or maybe a week to get down on paper. I must say though, at times, it becomes quite difficult, especially with translations. In my mind, I feel this is all necessary, to make sure that I am writing what the Lord is asking me to write. No more and no less.

I am constantly hoping and praying that I don’t make a mistake, although being human, at times I will. I just hope they are little ones! I also pray that whatever it is that I write, is clear and easy to understand─that I have taken the time to set the mood (so to speak) and project the Lord every time. Most of all I pray that I am showing the Lord first and always and that I don’t look for anything in it for myself.

I want the truth and only the truth! Having stated that I come to the meat of this article. I KNOW the Word of God is absolute truth! I know that it has been around for better than 3000 years, I know it was men that wrote these truths, as the Lord moved them to write what they did. What eludes me is this: Why do so few…CHOOSE to read the Bible, with the Lords blessing and wisdom, which is contrary to the vast majority?

 

Let’s look at this way: I know Satan and his ilk are everywhere across the world and they are doing everything they can to block the minds of people from the truth found in God’s Word. I understand, that there are some that will never be able to wrap their heads around the Word of God, for various reasons (mental illness, etc.). My problem is that those people are not the majority, but rather the greatest of minority in ability. So…what is wrong with all the rest of people?

If I found a book and it told me that I could live forever after I die as a human, I would be very interested to know all about it! Considering the fact that we are only getting 70 to 80 or so years to live here on this planet — being that this amount of time is so short, wouldn’t it be wise to think that there must be something else on the other side of death?

Now we seem to be asking, a “no-brainer,” right? Why would anyone want to think everything stops the moment our bodies completely fail us, or that there is no God of any kind? In my estimation that seems too fatalistic for my liking! Everything just simply stops, nothing else, nowhere to go and nothing else lives on? How unfortunate that seems to me and even more scary! What was my life here on earth for then? Also, why all the drama and pain and suffering and death and then…NOTHING? That is not right, nor is it worthy to think about in the least. It’s painful actually!

How do intelligent people come up with these ideas? Understanding the Bible being better than 3000 years old, there must be some truth in it. We, as Bible students know that there is all the truth in the universe in it and the prophecies of the Old Testament coming 100% true makes it more than just believable, but real!

You would think that the “normal” people in Congress and the White House would have their collective noses buried in the Bible…constantly! It’s like saying that there’s a book that can tell you exactly where all the gold or precious stones are buried. All you have to do is go there and dig ‘em up! RIGHT?

Way too many are concerned about December 21, 2012, the Mayan apocalypse or its some asteroid that is going to hit the earth, or the poles are going to reverse themselves and everything is going to be destroyed. For the true followers of Jesus Christ, all that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans!

2 Corinthians 5.8: “We are confident, I say, and willing rather to be absent from the body, and to be present with the Lord.”

We do not care what the Mayans thought, or anyone else! We already know the truth and we know where we are headed when death comes a knockin’! We also know, that one day very, very, soon the Rapture is going to take place and all the born-again believers, will meet our Lord in the Air and we will forever be with HIM in heaven. In actuality, we have absolutely NOTHING to worry about.

We are firmly and forever in the capable hands of our Lord! IF, we know and understand this, how is it possible that the unsaved cannot figure this out? The message is literally spread throughout the Web, on the radio and television programs and in more books than I care to imagine.

Looking at all this information, knowing what is in the Bible and talking with so many about the Lord, you would think these people are idiots for not wanting to know more! Walk up to a friend and say, “I’m gonna pull out a handgun and I’’m going to kill you!” Yeah, Yeah, I know, that’s not a nice thing to do, probably get ya thrown in the klink, too. Think on this though: That person would believe you instantly! Therefore, DEATH is a big thing to everyone and it crosses over into every language. Mo matter who you are, everyone knows about DEATH!

Now ask someone if they believe there is life after death? Just about every single person you ask is going to say they believe there is an after-life. Now ask those same people if they believe in heaven and hell. Most will reply that they do. Now ask them, which place they want to go to after they die! Almost everyone is going to say they want to go to heaven! Now ask them if they know how to get there? Here’s where things get real sticky with them! They now do not want to talk to you about ANYTHING! And we haven’t even said the name of Jesus Christ, yet!

If logic is still prevalent and willingly adhered to by everyone, wouldn’t it be logical to find out more about where you will be when death comes for you? We are able to joggle the DNA and RNA in a fetus, but we can’t understand the truths in the Bible. How ridiculous does that sound?! In a weird sort of way it seems like everyone is putting the cart before the horse! Everyone knows we had to be created, therefore there must be a Creator.

NOPE, can’t have that, evolution did it all, over billions of years! Or so they say and their little machines that they made say so also. So…the machines are infallable? Again, I am going to say,”We are a fallen creation so how can we be sure that the machines we make are not as fallen as we are?” Being human makes it evident that we will make mistakes, doesn’t that continue to correspond into our machines as well? How many times has a machine given “false-positives” or the other way around, as if that matters in the least!

We are still oxymorons! We need the Lord God Almighty! We are fallen! We are not 100% anything! Get used to it!

Jeremiah 3.21-23: “A voice was heard upon the high places, weeping and supplications of the children of Israel: for they have perverted their way, and they have forgotten the Lord their God. Return, ye backsliding children,and I will heal your backslidings. Behold, we come unto thee; for thou art the Lord our God. Truly in vain is salvation hoped for from the hills, and from the multitude of mountains: truly in the Lord our God is the salvation of Israel” (emphasis mine).

Psalm 103.1-6: “Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases. Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies. Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s. The Lord executeth righteousness and judgment for all that are oppressed” (emphasis mine).

We, the born-again Christians who follow Jesus Christ in every way know what the Bible truly is! It is the ultimate truth and there is none like it anywhere. Just as our Lord and Savior is our God and there will never be any other! I simply have a hard time getting this across to others who are not saved to Jesus Christ. They want to go to heaven, they want to live forever and live like they have never known before. Yet…they are not willing to find out how to obtain that truth. It boggles my mind, to say the least!

It is true that we believers must support each other, especially because we are still humans, still fallen and we need Jesus Christ to cover our SIN with HIS precious blood from the cross at Calvary. God takes up a human body and dies a horrible death for you and me, to give us life eternal through HIS blood…and someone doesn’t care or want to know about that?

How sad to think that they want to get to heaven before a just, yet loving Father but they want to do so in their own way and not the way spelled out in the Bible.

John 14. 5-10: “Thomas saith unto Him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way?

Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by Me.

If ye had known me, ye should have known my Father also: and from henceforth ye know him, and have seen him. Philip saith unto Him, Lord, show us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip?

He that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, show us the Father? Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works” (emphasis mine).

Jesus Christ…there is NO other!