Jesus Is Living In Me: Part 2 :: By Dennis Huebshman

Published on: July 23, 2020 by RR7

This may seem familiar, as I posted one similar in May 2019. This one contains updates to include events of today, and the song is just as critical as it was then.

Galatians 2:20; “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me.” This was a statement that summed up how Paul was inspired by the Savior after his conversion on the road to Damascus. We need to understand that this applies to every person on this earth as well. When we realize this, our life takes on a new meaning, and our eternity a new direction. Those who reject Jesus will face a terrible eternity. (all emphasis mine)

The Godhead is a “Trinity”; three entities in one; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. When we receive and accept Jesus as our Savior, we have the full power of this Trinity with us. John 14:15-17; “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper to be with you forever; even the Spirit of truth, whom the world [unbelievers] cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. You will know Him for He dwells with you, and will be in you.” Please note that this passage includes the whole triune Godhead. Then John 14:20; “In that day, you will know that I am in My Father, and you in Me, and I in you.”

Some may ask, what are Jesus’ commandments. Matthew 22:37-40; “Jesus said to him, ‘Love the lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and greatest commandment. The second is like it; Love your neighbor as yourself. All the law and the prophets depend on these two commandments.’” These commandments are also given in Mark 12:30-33 and Luke 10:27.

More verses about Jesus and the Spirit living in us are John 15; 1-27 (especially V.5); John 17:20-23; Romans 8:9-11; 2 Corinthians 13:5; 1 John 4:15 and many others. The “Spirit” within even has verses in the Old Testament with Ezekiel 36:27 and Isaiah 63:11, just as two examples.

Two verses that declare that we must have Jesus as our Savior are John 3:18; “Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he/she has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Then 1 John 5:12; “Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.”

John 14:1 and 6; “Let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God; believe also in Me…. Jesus said to him [Thomas], I am the Way, the Truth and the Life; no one comes to the Father except by Me.”

Peter, who had denied Jesus three times just before the crucifixion, became an inspired speaker after Pentecost. Filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 4:12, he boldly told the religious leaders; “And there is Salvation in no one else; for there is no other name under heaven, given among men, by which we must be saved.”

A song that holds a lot of meaning for me personally was written by the Easter family. It’s a Southern Gospel-style hymn, and it’s called “Jesus Is Living in Me.” It’s performed by James, Jeff and Sheri Easter on YouTube, and well worth the time to listen to it.

(1) Lonely years, I had nothing; my life had no meaning till I heard about Calvary. Then I knelt down in prayer; the Lord met me there; now Jesus Is Living in Me.

(ref) He’s in my feet when I’m walking; in my tongue when I’m talking; in my eyes, and now I can see. He’s in the songs that I’m singing; in my heart His joy is ringing; Jesus Is Living in Me.

(2) Through the valleys He has brought me to the top of the mountain, and over life’s troubled sea. Now I sing for His glory, songs that tells the Great Story, ’cause Jesus Is Living in Me. (ref)

Starting with the very first stanza, I had heard about Calvary all the way back to my early childhood. However, as with many people, the significance didn’t really sink in. I thought I was just fine because I believed Jesus was real, but without a relationship with Him, I was totally lost. Even Satan and his demons believe Jesus is real (James 2:19)

I’ve mentioned my “prayer warriors” in the past, and I’m firmly convinced they were holding me up in their prayers, asking the Father to open my eyes and touch my soul before it became too late. As the song says, “Then I knelt down in prayer; the Lord met me there.” From that moment forward, I realized just how lost I really had been, and thanked the Father for not requiring me to pass from this earth before I truly asked Jesus to be my Savior. I still thank Him for this every day!

It became a quest that I read the words God gave me. Each day I learned a bit more, and still do; and my new relationship with the Savior has grown stronger. I totally understand and believe that when I asked for Jesus to forgive me and to be my Savior, the Holy Spirit came to dwell inside of me. The Bible says this would happen, and I believe God cannot lie as given in Titus 1:2.

The refrain and second stanza describe my feelings today. I find myself singing praises to the Lord, even though it sounds a bit like “Alfalfa” of the original Little Rascals. (Yes, I was around way back then.) The father doesn’t hold our non-talent against us. He loves us to “sing” praises to Him the best we can, and with true devotion in our hearts. Psalm 105:1-3; “Oh give thanks to the Lord; call upon His name; make known His deeds among the peoples! Sing to Him, sing praises to Him; tell of all of His wondrous works! Glory in His name; let the hearts of those who see the Lord rejoice!”

A few more verses are Psalm 5:11; Psalm 9:1-2; Psalm 89:1; Psalm 104:33; Isaiah 42:10; Colossians 3:16 and James 5:13. One illustration is when Paul and Silas were in prison and had been beaten and put in stocks. Acts 16:25; “About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them.” It goes on to tell about an earthquake releasing them from their bondage, but because they didn’t run away, valuable souls were saved – namely the jailor and his whole family.

Please understand one thing; when we receive Jesus and accept the wonderful gift He gave for us, we are still subject to sin. It’s part of human nature, and everyone sins (Romans 3:23). The one advantage all true believers have is the Father will forgive us when we confess and ask forgiveness (1 John 1:8-10). As our relationship grows, our sin nature causes our “conscience” (Holy Spirit) to let us know we have to repent and turn away from habitual sin. The only time we will actually be sin-free is when we get our new “forever” bodies and new mindset. For the believers today, that will be when the Rapture takes place.

However, the down side is that all who refuse to accept Jesus as their Savior before they take their last breath on this earth will spend eternity separated from Him. The Lake of Fire was initially made for Satan and his demons (Matthew 25:41), as they do not have a pathway to forgiveness. Everyone from the beginning of earth’s creation up to Calvary who were not in God’s will, and everyone from Calvary to the end of the Millennium that denies Jesus as their Savior will join Satan in that Hell as given in Revelation 20:11-15. There are no other options.

False prophets are increasing in number, just as the Savior, Paul, John and others said they would. A lot of people have “religion,” but it’s not biblical. Jesus had the most problems with the “religious leaders” of His day. Today, more and more evangelical churches are turning away from the true word, and are having entertainment sessions. They give wonderful words that make people feel good. Music is designed to keep the “happy” feeling continue, along with special effects. Sad to say, the first meeting time after the Rapture will not see a change in attendance in many of the mega-churches. The following 7-year period will be totally miserable for them.

Jesus is waiting for your call, but He won’t force anyone to accept Him. Those who do will have the Holy Spirit in them; and as a result, Jesus will be there too. Then “Jesus Is Living in Me” will be a very meaningful song for you as well.

Call today; this age is rapidly drawing to a close as evidenced by the daily news. Satan knows his time is about done, and he’s pulling every trick he knows to pull souls away from Jesus. Our Savior’s flock knows what’s going on, and calls out to Him to Shepherd us (John 10). The only difficult part is having faith and believing Jesus’ gift is for real. Romans 10:9-13 gives the pathway to forgiveness and redemption. I went to my knees, and called out to Him; He lifted me up as a newborn person with an eternal address in Heaven. As Mr. Rogers so eloquently put it… “Won’t you be my neighbor?”

Shalom!

huebshman46@gmail.com

Living Through Birth Pains… What’s Next? :: By Britt Gillette

Published on: July 23, 2020 by RR7

With all the restrictions and societal changes brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic, I found myself longing for the “carefree” days of 2019 when everything was “normal.” Perhaps you’ve felt the same way. Of course, 2019 was far from perfect. It had its own problems and stresses, but only in comparison to 2020 do we think of 2019 as “the good old days.” And that got me thinking… This seems to be happening a lot lately. We’ve had no less than three of these events in the past 20 years.

If you’re old enough to remember, it was a different world before September 11, 2001. After September 11^th, collective fear increased. All sorts of restrictions and protective measures were put in place. Where would the next terrorist threat come from? Many longed for the relatively simple days of life before that terrible day.

Then in 2008, the Great Recession hit. Many people lost their jobs, and among those who didn’t, fear of an impending layoff increased. Many longed for the “simpler” times of the post-September 11^th years. Now, here we are in 2020. We’re in the middle of a global pandemic, and many long for a return to their pre-pandemic lives. None of this should surprise us.

Jesus said the days before His return will follow this exact pattern. He likened them to birth pains (Matthew 24:3-8). This means, as with labor contractions, we’ll see these types of events increase in frequency and strength as we approach the end of this age. What we’re seeing today are the birth pains Jesus warned about.

Jesus Is Coming

The frequency of these events testify that Jesus is coming. Our generation will witness His return (Matthew 24:34). All the signs Jesus and the prophets said to look for are present. They include, but aren’t limited to:

The restoration of Israel (Jeremiah 23:7-8; Isaiah 11:11-12)
The Jewish people in possession of Jerusalem (Luke 21:24-28)
The global spread of the Gospel (Matthew 24:14)
A marked increase in travel and knowledge (Daniel 12:4)
Israel surrounded by enemies (Psalm 83:4-12; Ezekiel 11:14-17; Ezekiel 35:10)
Israel fielding a great army (Ezekiel 37:10; Zechariah 12:6,8)
The rise of a United Europe (Daniel 2; Daniel 7; Revelation 17)
The rise of the Gog of Magog alliance (Ezekiel 38:8; Ezekiel 39:27)
Increased calls for global government (Revelation 13:7)
People acting in the way Paul said they would act (2 Timothy 3:1-5)
Widespread ridicule of the Second Coming (2 Peter 3:3-4)

All these signs and more point to the soon return of Jesus. He told us to “look up” when we see these signs converge (Luke 21:28), and we’re seeing them converge now. That means the rapture, the Tribulation, and the Second Coming are close at hand. And since Jesus told us to expect birth pains leading up to His arrival, look for major events similar to September 11^th, the Great Recession, and the COVID-19 pandemic to appear with greater frequency and cause greater trauma. In other words, expect things to get worse before they get better.

So, what will come next? While we can’t know for sure, here’s a few events on the horizon.

What’s Coming Next?

With conditions set to be worse in the coming months and years, what are the most likely events to occur in the near future? The possibilities are endless. We could see large magnitude earthquakes, a nuclear terrorist attack, or even a global pandemic worse than COVID-19. But rather than speculate, let’s focus on what we know is coming. The three events outlined below are either already happening or certain to happen in the near future.

1) A Global Depression – For the moment, many people seem to think the current economic slowdown is a brief pause – that once the coronavirus disappears, the economy will spring back to life and resume an upward growth trajectory. The S&P 500 reflects this belief. After crashing for most of February and March, it’s now just a few percentage points from its all-time high. But the “V-shaped” economic recovery touted in the media is nothing more than a mirage. You can’t shut down entire countries in an interconnected global economy and expect the impact to be temporary.

Many individuals and small business owners have watched their savings dwindle as their businesses are forced to close or their customers disappear. In some industries, it will take years for sales to reach pre-pandemic levels. Governments have tried to take measures to help – offering loans, providing direct cash payments, and even outlawing evictions. But these measures are only temporary. Eventually, they have to end.

For instance, in the United States, unemployed workers receive an extra $600 per week on top of their regular unemployment benefits. This has helped mask the true impact of the coronavirus shutdowns, but unless they’re extended, those payments will end on July 31. Then what happens? With more than 20 million people collecting unemployment, that adds up to over $12 billion per week. That’s $624 billion on an annual basis. Prior to the shutdowns, this would have been around 3% of the nation’s Gross Domestic Product. Today, with the hit the economy’s taken, it adds up to even more. When those payments end, consumer spending will dry up even further, lines will once again form outside of food banks, and a new round of layoffs will hit America’s workforce.

Making matters worse is the crippling impact on small business. Not only did governments force many businesses to shut down, but in a number of cases, it only allowed them to reopen with limited capacity. Foot traffic is down, and as new coronavirus cases crop up, these businesses may be forced to shut down again. This creates great uncertainty, and uncertainty is terrible for economic growth. Both businesses and individuals take less risk and cut expenses during times of uncertainty, and that means fewer sales, less revenue, and a contracting economy. To have the entire world economy suddenly come to a screeching halt is absolutely unprecedented. The result will be a terrible global depression on par with, or maybe even worse than, the Great Depression.

2) Widespread Famine – According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, more than 820 million people worldwide regularly suffer from hunger. And these statistics pre-date the coronavirus pandemic. That means events are only going to get worse because the state of the global economy has a direct impact on world hunger. Global hunger significantly increased during the Great Recession, and the current economic slowdown will be no exception. The World Bank’s most recent projection for 2020 global GDP is a 6.2% contraction – two times worse than the Great Recession. This alone increases the odds of famine and will leave millions more hungry.

According to Paul Winters of the International Fund for Agricultural Development, “Even before we got the COVID pandemic we were already seeing an increase in hunger around the world due to climate, conflict and economic slowdowns, and now we have this extra economic slowdown.”

By itself, the coming global depression will plunge millions into a state of poverty and hunger. But as terrible as all this is, it’s set to get far worse. Why?

Because this year also saw the emergence of one of the worst locust plagues in decades. Swarms of locusts measuring miles in length have ravaged countries in East Africa, the Middle East, and Southwest Asia. These swarms could continue to thrive and spread well into 2021. As they destroy crops, millions more face the prospect of famine – one of the signs Jesus said to look for (Matthew 24:7).

3) War in the Middle East – According to multiple news reports, Israel is currently contemplating the annexation of large parts of the West Bank. A coalition deal between Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Benny Gantz, of the Blue and White party, put forward a plan to do so as early as July 1. But so far, nothing has happened. That said, Netanyahu knows his window of opportunity to act is small – especially if it looks like Donald Trump may lose his re-election bid. If that happens, Netanyahu will almost certainly move forward with annexation while he still has a reliable ally in the White House.

However, such a move is likely to set off a firestorm of international condemnation and declarations of war from many of Israel’s enemies. For decades, world leaders have feared an explosive war in the Middle East. We may be closer to such a war now than we’ve ever been before. While Israel’s next war doesn’t have to be one outlined in Bible prophecy, several prophesied conflicts have yet to take place. These include conflicts that result in the destruction of Damascus (Isaiah 17), an attack from Israel’s immediate neighbors (Psalm 83), and an invasion by a coalition that includes Russia, Iran, Turkey, and several other nations (Ezekiel 38-39).

Could we be on the verge of one of these wars? We could. And Jesus pointed to “rumors of war” as a sign of His coming (Matthew 24:6).

What You Should Do

So with all that’s taking place, what should you do? The answer is clear – make the most of the time you have left. If you’re not a Christian, turn to Jesus now. He paid for your sins through His blood as shed on the cross. There is no other name by which we are saved (Acts 4:12). Jesus alone is the way to heaven (John 14:6), so turn to Him while you still can.

If you’re already Christian, don’t fear the events of the Tribulation. Jesus promised to protect His followers from “the great time of testing that will come upon the whole world” (Revelation 3:10). But don’t think that because you’ll avoid the Tribulation, you won’t face trials in this life. Jesus says you will. He says you’ll face many trials and tribulations in this world, but don’t let them bring you down, because He has overcome the world (John 16:33).

Realize the rapture itself could be the next traumatic event to hit the world. Think of those left behind, the fear they’ll have, and the world they’ll be living in. Use that as motivation to spread the Gospel. Right now, more people than ever are seeking Him. God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose for them (Romans 8:28). World-shaking events like the COVID-19 pandemic are no exception. People have been shaken from their sense of security. It’s in these moments when people seek God the most, because He can never be shaken. He’s the rock you should build your life on (Psalm 18:2). So take advantage of this moment and share your testimony, because Jesus is coming soon!

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Britt Gillette is author of the free ebook Coming to Jesus as well as the books Signs of the Second Coming, Racing Toward Armageddon, and The End Times. Receive his book 7 Signs of the End Times for free when you sign up for his monthly newsletter.