One night a thief broke into a house he thought was abandoned. As he walked then the darkened house with a flashlight he heard a voice from the kitchen that said, “Jesus is watching you.’ He stopped and said, “who’s there?” There was no answer so he thought he must have imagined it. But after he took a few more steps, the voice said again, “Jesus is watching you.” He decided to walk toward the voice, just before he entered the kitchen, he heard it again, “Jesus is watching you.” He swung the flashlight up and saw a parrot talking in a cage. The parrot said, Jesus is watching you.” The their turned flipped on the kitchen light and said, “Why you’re just a dumb bird.” The he looked in the corner of the room and seen a huge Rottweiler couching. And the parrot said “Get him Jesus.”
You might think it’s strange that Jesus would compare Himself to a thief. Of course, Jesus isn’t identifying with the sin of stealing. But just a good thief (that’s a oxymoron).that tries to sneak in quickly and quietly and escape with His people. That’s an accurate description of how Jesus will rapture His church.
We should all be living as if Jesus was crucified yesterday; raised from the dead this morning, and is coming back this afternoon.
1 Thessalonians 5: 1-4 tells us, “But concerning the times and the seasons, you have no need that anything be written to you. For you yourselves know that the day of the Lord comes like a thief in the night. For when they are saying, “Peace and safety,” then sudden destruction will come to then, like birth pains on a pregnant woman; and they will in no way escape.
We should know these 4 things
1. Jesus will return, But we don’t know the exact day.
Can you imagine a thief sending you a text or email saying, “Just wanted to know that I’m coming to rob your house tonight.” Of course not. Thief’s don’t announce when they’re coming. They sneak in and out.
When I was growing up my Dad used to do military funerals when a soldier or veteran would pass away. My father would keep all the guns in his closet. One night when no one was home the house was broken into and all the M16 rifles were stolen. He was very upset because they trusted him with these rifles. For a long time there would be someone home, or a neighbor would be watching the house.
Jesus told us to keep watch, because you don’t know on what day the Lord will come. We need to understand, if the owner of the house had known at what time of night the thief was coming, he would have kept watch and not let the house be broken into. So we must be ready, because the Son of Man will come at an hour when you don’t expect him (Matthew 24:42-44),
There have been times throughout history when many people expected Jesus to return. We use the Gregorian calendar now, but when the Julian calendar turned from year 999 to the year 1000, people expected Jesus to come for a new millennium, the same was true in the year 2000. People were on their best behavior, In the year 1000 history says that worldly goods were sold and money was given to the poor. Prisoners were set free, and many traveled to Israel to wait for Jesus’s return,
In the second and third chapter of Revelation, Jesus gives messages to the 7 churches, which represent all churches of all time. When He wrote to the church at Philadelphia, He says, “Since you have kept my command to endure patiently, I also will keep you from the hour of trial that is going to come upon the whole world to test those who live on the earth” (Revelation3:10).
In Luke 17 Jesus compares His return to a couple of Old Testament events. “Just as it was in the days of Noah, so also will it be in the days of the Son of Man. People were eating, drinking, marrying and being given in marriage up to the dat Noah entered the ark. Then the flood cane and destroyed them all. It was the same in the days of Lot. People were eating, drinking, buying and selling, planting and building. But the day Lot left Sodom, fire and suffer rained down from heaven and destroyed them all. It will be just like this on the day the Son Of Man is revealed (Luke 17:26-30).
I miss when there were cassettes or compact discs in every vehicle. The fact that I could buy music and It was something physical I could hold and it was I could get the music I loved. I read somewhere that it was done to save auto makers money and integrate streaming services.
Many people make excuses, and some of them are justified, like a sudden illness. But I think people use excuses as a defense mechanism to protect their ego, avoid negative consequences, or even shift blame. It helps people feel right and shields them from feelings of shame.
I would rather someone tell me they don’t want to do something than making us excuses.
There is actually a psychologist behind excuse giving. These are:
Ego protection: Excuses safeguard a person’s self-image by making failure feel like the fault of circumstance rather than a flaw.
Displacement of responsibility: Many people externalized blame onto time constraints, other people, or unexpected events to avoid criticism.
Avoidance of change: It often signals a fear of the unknown or a lack of motivation to put in the required effort.
When someone asks us, “Do you want…” most excuses over explain why they don’t want to. Just saying “I can’t or “I don’t want to” is sufficient. I would rather get a simple reason than them telling me making excuses, or saying yes and then not doing it at all.
Where we invest our focus dictates our returns. Our energy is an finite, non refundable resource and treating it with the same rigor as a financial budget is the ultimate life hack of well-being and productivity.
When we begin treating our daily capacity as a nonrefundable asset we begin to:
Pay attention: every time we give something focus, we are buying an experience. We need to spend it on things that will pay us back.
Protect our balance: Just like a bank account we have to guard it against unwarranted drains. Not everyone or every situation is worthy of our time.
Budget intentionally: We need to allocate our physical, mental, and emotional stamina toward what fosters growth, clarity, and purpose.
If we want to maximize our energy currency, we have to pay attention to what drains our energy. And direct our energy towards projects and goals we want to invest in.
A believe both external action and internal character shapes who we are. Experiences shape our perspective and skill set, it fundamentally who we are. Our core values, empathy, and our moral compass determines how we navigate those experiences.
I believe character can endure profound hardships and be saved by our resilience. The two are deeply intertwined: experiences test and refine who we are, but our internal identity dictates meanings we extract from those experiences.
The Bible Has lots to say about “fire.” The word fire is used 549 times in 506 verses throughout the Bible. God use fire to execute judgment upon evil. God has executed fire to get the attention of Moses. God communicated His message to His people when the glory cloud came down upon the tabernacle in the wilderness wandering of the Israelites.
When God’s presence was manifested by fire all the people could see that God was on the scene.
In 1 Kings 18 it mentions of a time when the country had turned to idolatry and their hearts were very cold towards God and Elijah who came along with a proposition. Elijah said, “How long will you falter between two opinions? If the Lord is God follow Him, but if Baal, follow him.” Then Elijah put forth another proposition to the “prophets” of Baal. In 1 Kings 18:23-24 he said, “Let them therefore give us two bulls for themselves, and cut it into pieces, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under, and I will dress the other bull, and lay it on the wood, and put no fire under it. You call on the name of your god and I will call on the Lord’s name. The God who answers by fire, let him be God. All the people answered and said, it is well spoken.”
Then the fire of the Lord fell.
Where is the fire today?
Today, I think it is not a physical location but a spiritual presence manifested through the Holy Spirit. The fire of God is within our hearts.
Historically, manifestations of God‘s fire range from the burning bush on Mount Sinai to the tongues of fire on the day of Pentecost. Today, people view this fire as a symbol of spiritual passion, guidance, and purification that moves whenever prayer and worship occurs. And tongues of fire as something evil. But the Bible says nothing about tongues of fire being evil and I believe God has the power to do anything.
Acts 2:3 describes fire resting on the people, rather than hovering above the city itself. Tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. If you believe in the Bible or in God, it is still possible.
If I had to be an animal for a week I would choose to be a black panther. Because they are rare and mysterious. They symbolize power, courage, with quiet strength, calm, patience, perseverance and self confidence.
We are not saviors of the world, but we are meant to live and grow in God’s service. Understanding God’s promises becomes our own scriptural prophecy. It is the key to fully embodying our God given potential.
And my God will supply every need of yours according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” – Philippians 4:19
God has granted us His precious and great promises. 2 Peter 1:4 tells us, “By which He has granted to us His precious and great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”
The first promise is that God loves us unconditionally. There is no doubt that we live in a world with conditional promises and relationships. Despite this reality, our greatest need is to be loved unconditionally. We want to be loved with a perfect, sacrificial, forever kind of love, despite our faults, by someone who knows us intimately. And we want to be supported and inspired by that love not only to become better people but also to leave lasting impressions.
God provides this love because no one else can. I believe we all have a “God shaped hole” in our hearts. Meaning that a space when we were created that only God can fill. And the love we need is strong, and unshakable. The Apostle Paul wrote in Romans 8:38-39 “For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels or demons, neither the present nor the future, neither any powers, neither height nor depth , nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Jesus Christ our Lord.” That love claims us by faith.
The second promise is through it all we are never alone. When I think about God, unconditional love and what it looks like. I think about companionship. When my heart is broken, God is there, and his heart is broken too. When no one else understands, the Creator of my heart does and he sends the comforter, the Holy Spirit, to help me. When I feel left out, isolated, or rejected, I remember the wounds on Jesus‘s hands -wounds that understand my pain and loves me and how I’m whole again.
The Bible emphatically proclaim it by stating that even when your father and mother forsake you, the Lord will hold you close. “When my father and my mother forsake me, then the Lord will take me up” – Psalms 27:10. We will always have a Father who is the eternal lover of our soul, and he will never abandon us.
The third promise is we are redeemed and have an eternal home in heaven. When I worked as a chaplain for a veterans organization years ago, I would read the Bible to a few that were in care facilities. Psalm 121 was one of the most popular scripture read. That’s because this Psalm describes God as our unfailing protecter who gives us an eternal home. It reads, “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your food to be moved. He who keeps you will not slumber. The Lord is your keeper. The Lord is your shade on your right hand. The sun will not harm you by day, nor the moon at night. The Lord will keep you from all evil. He will keep your soul. The Lord will keep your going out and your coming in, from this time forward, and forever more.” The Holy Spirit remind us all God has done for us and wants to be in our lives.
The fourth promise is, God created us with intention and knows us intimately. The card bracket creation and its redemption plan for Jesus also crafted us. David praise God in Psalm 139:13-16 by saying, “For it was you who formed my inward parts. You knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made.” Not only are we God’s masterpieces, but God has a special plan for each of our lives that spans the number of our days.
The fifth promise is, You are who the Bible says you are. God has a special plan for our lives, even though we sometimes doubt and don’t feel special. While no one is perfect, we are not flawed, inferior, or replaceable in God’s eyes. Eleanor Roosevelt once said, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.” Whatever insecurities rear their ugly heads, the Bible encourages us to replace their lies with truth. A regular diet of scripture and attention to God’s still small voice within can be immeasurably helpful -it’s like putting the belt of truth around our waist (Ephesians 6:14).
In Isaiah 43:1 the Lord says, “Do not be afraid for I have redeemed you, I have called you by your name. You are mine.” God continues in Isaiah 43:4, “Since you have been precious and honored in my sight, and I have loved you, therefore I will give people in your place, and nations instead of your life.” Our insecurities cannot rob us of who or whose we are.
The sixth promise is God’s plan for your life is to prosper you, not to harm you. Our world knows brokenness and sin, but God knows Hope and restoration. One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is Jeremiah. 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”
God‘s plan for our life includes hope, and a prosperous future, or one in which we thrive. In Psalm 103 David says, “Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits -who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you will love and compassion, who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles.”
God is invested in our well-being and working towards our renewal, wholeness, and healing daily. In addition to blessing us, God has big dreams for our lives and beckoned us to follow. Obedience often requires faith and risk, but God will delight in our dependence on him And will always be there to support us.
Proverbs 19:21 tells us, “Many are the plans in the mind of a man, but it is the purpose of the Lord that will stand.”
The seventh promise is The risk that God is calling you to take is worth it. We were all made with a purpose, but we cannot accomplish that purpose without obedience. We must be willing to trust the Creator and step out, and take His hand in faith. The prominent figures in the Bible from Genesis to Revelation risked a lot. It’s important to know that the risks that God calls us to are calculated, not reckless and is based on faith, not fear, and it will be rooted in our identity, in whom God created us to be. It requires that we face uncertainty, and even that we remain persistent in that uncertainty, which is difficult. If we remain faithful and do not give up. Galatians 6:9 tells us, “Let’s not be weary in doing good, for we will reap in due season, if we don’t give up.” Even if the outcome is different than we anticipated, Romans 8:28 tells us that God will work all things for our good, and we will unlock an adventure of vibrant faith relationship.
Promise eight is, You have special strength available through Faith which is the power of Jesus. Every time I am struggling with something I repeat Philippians 4:13, “I can do all things through Christ, who strengthens me.” God will never call us to a place and leave us unattended. Be assured that the God who numbered the hairs on our heads is fighting for us. Psalm 5:12 tells us, “For you will bless the righteous. Lord you will surround him with favor as with a shield.” We have an insurmountable ally in God. Romans 8:31 says, “For if God is for you, who can be against you.”
Promise nine is, God hears your prayers and can move through them. God shows us His glory everyday, we are just too busy to recognize it. The beauty of nature, through providence and grace, God sustains life every day breathing life into us everyday. I have seen God heal diseases, save souls, and, and redeem pasts.
In John 14:13-14 Jesus tells us, “Whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son, If you ask anything in My name, I will do.” I believe this is why obedience is so crucial. God isn’t going to answer the prayers of someone who sins or rejects Him.
We cannot control God’s answers to our requests, prayer opens the door for God to act through our beliefs. Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, with guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” We should never underestimate the power and privilege of prayer -we have the ear of the Creator of the universe.
Promise ten is, Hope is always alive in your life through faith. It’s heartbreaking when we witness power, corrupting organizations, lies, deceiving people in politics, and senseless violence. We are not immune to losing or hurting in our personal life. It’s easy to be tempted to lose hope. Psalm 126:5 reminds us of the promise that, “Those who sow with tears with reap songs of joy.” No matter how dire the situation, we serve a God who specializes in “beauty for ashes,” even death does not have the last word. Hope can work that powerfully. In Matthew 18:3 Jesus encourages us to be like children, “Truly I tell you unless to change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” Jesus uses the child as an example of humility, innocence and teachability. He explained whoever takes the humble position of a child is considered the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus encourages us to adopt the innocent, trusting nature of a child. A child still believes that goodwill conquers evil, and Almighty God is always at work. That gives us cause to praise and remain hope filled.
When we serve as true believers of Jesus we give to our flesh the spiritual promises that we have benefited from and shared them with the world. Yay house.
I believe that government surveillance -Flock cameras, AI Data centers, phone tracking and letting our vehicles spy on us will be worse in 20 years. The surveillance of people that they say are justified because of securities.
That being said, I don’t think it will take 20 years for the people that are trying to be God’s to destroy themselves.
“When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth” – John 16:13
The Presence of the Holy Spirit guidance is confirmed through inner peace.
The Bible is clear in the history of the church that if we let the Holy Spirit lead us, our lives will blossom and flourish. But if we neglect or refuse His leading, our lives will languish. Some believers today seem to misunderstand the Holy Spirits leading and how it relates to personal transformation.
There’s something believers call a leading from the Holy Spirit, a “check in your spirit,”or “a gut feeling.” Either way we describe it, it is a prompting from God that impresses itself on us -not as audible words, but a sense deep within our spirits, a knowing that we can’t quite explain.
The best example I can use to explain this is something that didn’t go very well because I didn’t listen to that check in my spirit. I refused the check because I thought I knew better.
One time I a schedule to see a specialist about 3 hours drive away from me. The morning of my appointment I felt something off. They check in my spirit was tells me don’t go. -to call and reschedule. I bypassed the Holy Spirits guidance and went any way. After driving in horrible traffic I arrived in the parking lot of the specialists, when my phone began ringing. The call was from the specialists office telling me they had to cancel due to a medical emergency. I don’t a total of 6 hours in one day for nothing because I refused to listen to the Holy Spirits guidance.
As followers of Jesus and members of His flock, we should be confident that we can hear His voice. We don’t hear him with our physical ears, nor do we process His voice in our minds. Instead, we hear God in our spirits. God, who is Spirit, goes in front of us, and as sheep we know God’s voice.
When we experience that unexplainable sense of knowing, we should not ignore it; it is God, through the Holy Spirit, prompting us to avoid a bad outcome and sometimes danger. We should obey it. How many times have you and I felt that check in your spirit, and chose to ignore it, and gotten ourselves in a mess because you did?
The book I have read more than any other is the Bible. Because it’s the cornerstone of Western civilization. It serves as a spiritual guide, a source of moral guidance and a way to understand God’s character as well as a way to connect with Jesus. Every problem I have had the Bible gives me the solution to overcome it.
As I watch as our world falls into chaos again and again I am reminded of the importance of having a firm foundation.
The men and women who fight everyday to protect countries truly believe in risking their lives for it. How many of us are willing to give up our lives for something we feel passionately about. We live in a world where it’s now considered acceptable to kneel for our national anthem, where believing in God, having morals and values is considered wrong, where standing up for a faith puts us at risk of being considered hateful and intolerant.
Proverbs 22:28 remind us “Don’t move the ancient boundary stone, which your fathers have set up.” When we start messing around with our foundations, the whole structure shifts. And an unsteady structure is not a safe structure.
Think about it: The foundation is the more important part of our homes. Without a firm foundation, our homes are not safe. Any mistakes in the foundation will only get worse as it is built. The framing, the roof, and the rest of the structure will be completely shifted.
Just like our homes our foundations are important for several reasons.
A firm foundation is important because storms will come.
In our homes, without a firm foundation, they would wash away when rain falls and storms blow. The same is true about our faith. We may think it doesn’t matter who or what we believe in, but when life’s storms come, we need strength and structure for our souls.
Jesus told us in Matthew 7:24-27, “Therefore whoever hears these saying of Mind, and does them, I will liken him to a wise man who built his house on the rock, and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it did not fall, for it was founded on the rock. But everyone who hears these saying of Mine, and does not do them, will be like a foolish man who build his house on the sand and the rain descended, the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, and it fell. And great was it’s fall.”
2. A firm foundation is important because our foundation is our core.
There’s a saying that goes “treat the cause, not the symptoms.” Without a firm foundation, we put ourselves at risk of all kinds of surface issues. An example is when we go to the doctor they want to treat the symptoms, not the root cause is the problem. If we don’t cure the root we just cover it up.
Just like mistakes in the foundation of a house, if we don’t have a firm foundation for our souls, we put ourselves at risk for bad influences to creep in.
Paul says in his letter to Timothy in 1 Timothy 6:18-19, “Let them do good, that they be rich in good works, ready to give, willing to share, storing up for themselves a good foundation for the time to come, that they may lay hold of eternal life.” For example, if you’re trying to be healthy, you don’t just exercise. If you’re trying to improve your health, you start with what you eat, because the fuel you put into your body is more important than exercise. The same can be said about our spiritual life – It’s not just good works that matter, it what is in our soul that counts.
“You can’t build a great building on a weak foundation. You must have a solid foundation if you’re going to have a strong superstructure.”
From Pity to Praise 