When you’re young you normally don’t think much about the future, but before you know it, it’s there.

Little children live in the moment. Their greatest concern is what they’re doing at the moment they are in. There is one date on the calendar that will get them looking toward the future however, and that is December 25th, Christmas day. The closer that special day gets, the greater their anticipation. When it arrives, they settle down for that one moment again.

Teenagers are another breed altogether. Their hormones are kicking in, and they start looking outside the moment. The opposite sex (at least I pray it’s the ‘opposite’ sex) starts looking pretty good. Dates with these interesting parties are planned and eagerly anticipated. Driving a car becomes another interesting part of those years, but to contemplate way out there in the future, hmmm, not thinking much about that just yet.

Then come the college years, young adulthood and starting a family. Here are the beginnings of opening the mind to the pathway of life. Ah! There is something besides the “here and now.” Where am I going in life?

All of us are on a journey in our respective lives. We can crash and burn, so to speak, or we can look back and say, “Thanks Lord, how would I have made it without you?”

What we make of this journey is pretty much up to us. I’m referring specifically to the decisions we make, especially the one concerning our faith or lack thereof in Jesus Christ. For Christians, we can rest assured that even from our bad decisions, and there will be many, the grace of God is there for us.

Speaking to Christians, the life we live now will determine our service with the Lord during the Millennium and throughout eternity. In other words, we are preparing now for what we do then.

The younger you are (earthly age) as a Christian, the more time and opportunity you have to make your life count for Christ. Conversely, if old age has crept up on you, time is running out, but it’s never too late to be fully committed to your Savior and Lord. At this point, let us take a very brief look at three of God’s followers from the Bible.

ABRAHAM

God called Abraham out to leave his homeland of Ur and go to a land chosen by God for him, his family and his progeny. Abraham was a man of deep faith and was even called a “friend of God.”

“And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.”

Even so Abraham made one colossal blunder. Her name was Hagar. The world is still reeling from the ramifications of that wrong decision.

DAVID

David served the Lord God from his youth, and we relive his deep faith in God every time we read of his going up against Goliath, the Philistine. Everyone, including Saul, was scared to death of Goliath, but David was a man after God’s own heart.

“And when he had removed him, he raised up unto them David to be their king; to whom also he gave testimony, and said, I have found David the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will.” (Acts 13:22)

The one thing we normally remember about David though is his affair with Bathsheba and the murder of her husband.

PETER

What do we instantly remember about Peter? The first thing that comes to mind is his denial of Jesus, exactly as Jesus foretold. But have you ever read Acts chapters three through five? What a transformation! This isn’t the same man after the cross as before the cross.

SUMMARY:

All three of these men made wrong decisions I’m sure they would have liked to change. Sometimes our decisions effect the short-term future and sometimes they are long-range, going on for centuries, as Abraham’s. The important thing to remember is that despite their failings, and ours, God is always in charge, and will bless those who get back up and obediently follow Him.

If you’re a young person you have a long life ahead of you to glorify the Lord in the way you live for Him. If you’re much older, don’t look back, but serve Him with deep devotion in the time you have remaining.

For the elderly especially, many have come to Christ in their later years and become a Christian. Many Christians have finally gotten the fire going in their soul and become a devoted servant of the Lord later in life. We can’t change the fact of, “If I had just made the right decisions when I was young, I would have so much more to show for my Christian life.” Forget the past, or you’ll just keep making the wrong decisions. Deal with the present.

I mentioned earlier that how we live our Christian life on earth will determine our service for Him during the Millennium and throughout all eternity. That should encourage us to take advantage of the here-and-now by making decisions based upon the leadership of God’s Spirit and not our own desires.

Matthew 25:14-30 is the Parable of the Talents. Faithfulness is what God expects from each of us as Christians. All who are His will be faithful to some degree, but the one who has nothing to show for what he claims to have is a hypocrite, and will be cast into outer darkness. His journey through life is a total failure.

The lesson to learn from Abraham, David and Peter is that even though they made some pretty bad decisions, they didn’t dwell on them. They continued going forward with the Lord God. Let us aim for the right decisions by listening to God as we travel our journey, but if we do make a bad decision let us not stop and quit. Let’s move on and run the race.

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:1-2)

“Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize.” (1 Corinthians 9:24)

Grant Phillips

There are almost 200 countries on planet earth. From the past to the present, no country has been administered by the ruling authority or authorities with anything but greed and corruption. The obvious reason is that man has always had a sinful heart, and when you have leaders who do not know God, the problem increases dramatically.

Satan is the god of this world, and has been since he duped Adam and Eve into giving it up to him.

“In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” (2 Corinthians 4:4)

He has done nothing but make a mess in every age and in every part of the world. Spiritually, he has left beer cans, destruction and vomit in his path. Everything he has touched has gone awry. It seems that has been his intention all along. I’m kidding. Weknow it has been his intention all along.

When the bride of Christ (the Church) is removed from this earth at the Rapture and the Holy Spirit raises His hand of protection, Satan is really going to throw a party. At least that’s what he thinks. In reality, God will give him just a little more rope, but it will be God bringing down judgment upon this world and drawing His beloved Israel back to His bosom through some very hard times.

When it’s over, the world will advance into one last era before eternity to fulfill all the promises made to His people Israel. This age in question is called the Millennial age. It will be 1,000 years (millennium) of Jesus Christ ruling the world. Several Scriptures reference this era, but if you would like, read Isaiah chapters 11, 60-65, Ezekiel 40-48 and Revelation 20.

The Millennium will be populated by followers of Christ (Tribulations saints) who are still alive after the Tribulation ends. These believers will be in their natural bodies and populate the earth during this time. In a very, very short while, millions upon millions will be born from these original believers, especially considering that:

“Never again will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not live out his years; the one who dies at a hundred will be thought a mere child; the one who fails to reach a hundred will be considered accursed. No longer will they build houses and others live in them, or plant and others eat. For as the days of a tree, so will be the days of my people; my chosen ones will long enjoy the work of their hands.” (Isaiah 65:20, 22)

The curse will be lifted and the world will be restored to its Edenic innocence, beauty and purity.

“The wolf and the lamb will feed together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox, and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain,” says the LORD.” (Isaiah 65:25)

There is much that can be said about the 1,000 year Millennium, but my one intent for this article is just to relate how I see Jesus ruling the world during this time, as opposed to our (this country) current methods.

During the Millennium God’s people will rule the nations, but Jesus Christ, lest we forget, is King of kings and Lord of lords and will be the Supreme commander. We will rule under Him.

The Lord says, “To the one who is victorious and does my will to the end, I will give authority over the nations—that one ‘will rule them with an iron scepter and will dash them to pieces like pottery’—just as I have received authority from my Father.” (Revelation 2:26-27)

Please read all of Psalms two, but in the following verses we see Christ as the true Ruler of the world. “Ask me, and I will make the nations your inheritance, the ends of the earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” Therefore, you kings, be wise; be warned, you rulers of the earth. Serve the LORD with fear and celebrate his rule with trembling. Kiss his son, or he will be angry and your way will lead to your destruction, for his wrath can flare up in a moment. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.” (Psalms 2:8-12)

This isn’t the picture most people today have of Jesus, especially those of the world. Most today see Jesus as some long-stringy-haired, effeminate male as portrayed on the Hollywood screen. The real picture of Jesus is found in Revelation 1:12-20.

Before going on, the question needs to be asked, “How could anyone rebel against God when everything in the Millennium is perfect bliss and Satan is bound?” The answer is in realizing that sin comes from us. Satan just pushes our buttons on occasion. Even though Satan is bound, every person is born with a sin nature.

“Surely I was sinful at birth, sinful from the time my mother conceived me.” (Psalms 51:5)

As children are born from the original inhabitants of earth during that time (those alive after the Tribulation who belong to Christ), the sin nature is active. As each generation comes on the scene, resistance against Christ’s authority starts to show, but when the resistance pops up its ugly little head, it is quickly dealt with.

We in this country are overwhelmed with crime, and it is getting worse every day. Could one of the reasons be because criminals now seem to have more rights than victims in this country? It all started with little Johnny as a boy.

Little Johnny was never disciplined (including a good spanking) because it might warp the poor little fellow. However, little Johnny is now a grown man who is nothing more than a thug doing what he has always done, getting his own way with no regard to others. Now thug Johnny is pampered by the ‘justice’ system because ‘he wasn’t loved when he was a child.’

I’m pretty sure that little Johnny will get his fanny busted during the Millennium, and if he still can’t get it right as a man, he will receive immediate and strict justice from those who are in authority.

True justice will be administered swiftly and correctly during the Millennium. That’s a concept that many just can’t seem to understand. Lawlessness will be kept below the surface until the Lord releases Satan for one final show down. Jesus will allow the rebellion from Satan and all those who follow him, but it will be a short lived rebellion. Please read Revelation 20:7-15.

Those of this world who call themselves “Christian” need to wake up and realize that God is really serious about sin (rebellion against God). Any contrariness toward all He has said in His Word, the Bible, will be severely dealt with. There are those in the churches, not to mention those outside the Church, who are living like they are in charge, instead of God. They can make the rules, even when they override God’s commands.

The Church age is quickly drawing to a close. As to when it will end, I don’t know, but I do know this. There are so many signs coming to pass that pertain to the Tribulation, which follows the Rapture, one can almost smell the change in the air before the storm comes.

Jesus Christ is not a wimpy soft-spoken push over, and His rule during the Millennium will be one of “You will break them with a rod of iron; you will dash them to pieces like pottery.” I thank God that I and others will be on His side when the time comes. The good news is, you can be on His side too, but you need to decide now. Put your faith in Jesus Christ and you will reign with Him forever and ever.

Grant Phillips