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Like A Thief In The Night

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).

Are You Ready?

The Bucket List

What’s a country that’s at the top of your bucket list? The number one place to visit is Hungary in the winter. I long to see, taste, and feel this place. To see where my Father is from. It’s almost as if I need closure for something and I would find it there. Even if that means any unexpected grief.

I know that anyone can build a story in our heads, and then get hurt when it isn’t.

Spiritual Warfare And Mental Health

Mental health challenges are significant concern in today’s world. For believers, understanding the connection between mental health, faith, and spiritual warfare is essential for navigating difficult times. I believe there is a connection between spiritual warfare and mental health. And that there are ways, we can confront these challenges through biblical wisdom, insight, and compassionate care.

Mental health refers to a person’s emotional, psychological, spiritual, and social well-being. It influences how we think, behave, handle stress, relate to others, and make decisions. just like physical well-being, mental health is a crucial aspect of holistic health. Mental illness is a health condition that affects a person‘s thinking, emotions, behavior, the ability to function in daily life. These conditions can be influenced by biological, psychological, social, and spiritual factors.

As described in the Bible, spiritual warfare refers to the ongoing battle between good and evil, particularly how sin, spiritual oppression, and demonic influences can impact a believer’s mental, emotional, and rational well-being. A beautiful understanding of mental health and spiritual warfare enables us to discern between psychological struggles and spiritual attacks, which provides us with effective tools for resistance and spiritual growth.

We are witnessing a shift in cultural perceptions that could be understood through two concepts. I think this illustrates a lack of connection and a lack of alignment in contemporary society. These changes can refer to identifying errors in thinking, behavior, or decision-making. The connection highlights how errors are interconnected; we really see how one mistake can lead to a belief or pattern that influences another.

The cultural shift has been accelerated by the impact of the last pandemic, its overwhelming spread of comforting information, and they’re in increasing theand they’re in increasing distraction caused by technology. However, the distortion of truth, and disconnection from the divine order of society is not new; it dates back to Genesis 3 in the Bible, where humanity first chose rebellion and idolatry.

I believe the event in Genesis 3 illustrates the first instance of the air connection where deviation from God’s truth leads to catastrophic consequences. Satan manipulated Eve through deception, introducing doubt and fear. his strategy was not to enlighten, but to cause confusion, leading humanity away from God‘s presence. Genesis 3:6 indicate a collision of temptations that were involved in the fall. Lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and boastful pride of life all because of an apple and the deceiver.

Satan‘s goal has always been to dethrone God and to deceive His bearers. He targeted Adam and Eve because their choices would shape all future generations. The pattern of deception included, planting doubt, fostering fear, and temptations, and leading to distorted perceptions of God. And this continues today. It manifest in moderate struggle, such as anxiety, depression, and spiritual disconnection.

One of Satan‘s primary distractions is to shift our focus away from God, whispering settle, lies that caused us to doubt God‘s goodness and fulfillment elsewhere. This can lead to idolatry, where we replaced God with material possessions, desires, or coping mechanisms. The result is spiritual and mental fragmentation, which makes us vulnerable to both psychological distress and spiritual attacks.

The possible Paul describes through warfare and Ephesians 6:12, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil In the heavenly realms.”

I believe every believer should exercise discernment and address mental health issues, recognizing that spiritual and psychological factors can often overlap. Some mental struggles can be caused from spiritual warfare, while others may have psychological or biological roots.

I believe that mental health and spiritual warfare are closely interconnected. We have believers play a vital role in merging faith with compassionate care. By understanding, the spiritual and psychological aspects of mental health, we can apply biblical truth, and exercise wisdom.

As believers we are called to walk in wisdom and spiritual authority, recognizing that Jesus already achieve the ultimate victory. Through faith, prayer, and compassion we can guide people through battles of the mind and spirit. This can lead them to the abundant life that God intended for them.

Knowing What Would Have Saved My Younger Self

What’s one thing you know now that would have saved your younger self a lot of pain? I think there is a huge difference between information and knowledge. My younger self was given information about what, who, where, and when. But at the same time I not given the how and why. Information at easy to store, copies, and share. Knowledge is a hard package copy because it lives inside a persons mind and habits. I think coupled with thinking that people not caring was the recipe for disaster.

Embracing Faith In Small Beginnings

Saying yes to small beginnings means embracing modest first steps with faith, knowing that meaningful growth takes time.

God has a way of taking small beginnings and turning them into great success. Grand things often begin in obscurity. God will entrust you with more when you are faithful in a few.

God delights in modest starts because He uses quiet, faithful beginnings to build great outcomes over time. God is the one who makes us great, so we don’t have to wait until we are good enough or courageous enough. We all have struggles that may feel impossible to overcome. But, when it comes to having faith that God chose us for something great. It can be easy to become overwhelmed by the work we think it would take to get there and give up before even trying. The point isn’t to already be where we think we are supposed to be; the point is to start, no matter how small that beginning may be.

We shouldn’t underestimate small beginnings. When we believe that God put a vision on our hearts, it’s important to have faith in that vision knowing God will see it through.

Weird Movies

What’s the weirdest movie you’ve ever watched? I think the strangest movie I ever watched was called “Under the Skin with Scarlett Johansson. She plays an unnamed woman from another planet who adopts human form. And drives a white van through the rainy streets of Scotland. He prayed to only one man, using passive deportation and seduction to bring them to a strange, pitch-black void, and consumes them. In the end, the alien escapes her role as a hunter and attempts to integrate into human life by eating food and experiencing romance, but her anatomy rejects it, and she finally finds refuge and a dense forest. Then she gets brutally assaulted by a lumberjack but when he sees her true identity he douses her with gasoline and burns her alive.

It was an incredibly dark, strange movie from 2013 that was a surreal minimalist science fiction film by Jonathan Glazer.

Since then I have stopped watching science fiction and thriller movies because of their demonic feel.

When God Protects Our Doors

God has tried to guide my life and protect me throughout my life. I have survived too many accidents for Him not to be. Starting with the abuse I endured as a child, having a deep fryer falling on me at 4 years old which burned 80% of my body and only coming out with a few scars, the malnutrition I spent 3 months in the hospital from. The auto accident of a little car slamming me into the side of a mountain, along with the near drug overdoses, and even me trying to end my life myself, and the cancer that the doctors gave me about a year to live. As well as dying and waking up three days later in Intensive care, and putting myself in precarious situations due to my lack of caring about what happened to me.

It wasn’t until many years later that I began seeing that I had too many near-death experiences, and I realized God was protecting me for some kind of assignment. Every challenge I overcame was training for my calling. I believe God surrounded me with unseen strength to keep me safe until my work is done. Yet I still wonder if I would’ve accepted His guidance if I were today.

God often qualifies us for what He has called us to do. Throughout the Bible, God calls unlikely people to do big things for Him. I believe the significant reason is that if they could do it on their own, they wouldn’t need God to help them. Or even bring glory to God. God wants us to walk by faith and not by sight.

I believe everyone has an assignment from God to fulfill their purpose. And God qualifies us through our lessons of past experiences. In James 1:2-3, James wrote, “Count it all joy, my bothers, when you fall into various temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. Let endurance have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.”

“How many accidents have to happen before we start calling it what it is -an assignment.”

The Morning Routine

Tell us about your morning routine. I am blessed; I don’t have to get up and get ready for a job. Although my house has plenty of things need to be done daily. I used to get really frustrated because I had insomnia. I will go to bed sleep for two or three hours, wake up,and stay up for hours, and then go back to bed. Then I realize there’s something called the “second sleep” or “segmented sleep.” So, I get up around 2:00 or 3:00am I read my bible, pray, and write, and then about 5:00am I return to sleep. Once I realized this is my body being completely normal I had less stress about it.

The Fruit Of The Spirit

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Messiah have crucified the flesh with its passions and lusts” -Galatians 5:22-24

Love
Joy
Peace
Patience (forbearance)
Kindness
Goodness
Faithfulness
Gentleness
Self-control

These attributes represent the visible evidence of the Holy Spirit’s work in a follower of Jesus. The Apostle Paul emphasizes that these qualities are not just moral guidelines but are the results of humbling ourselves before God. He states that “against such things there is no law,” indicating that these virtues are universally positive and do not conflict with any moral or legal standards.

To grow these fruits, we are encouraged to abide in Jesus and allow the Holy Spirit to guide our thoughts and actions. I think this involves humbling our souls before God. It requires a daily commitment to the Spirit’s leading which can transform our character and behavior, and leads to a fruitful life and will reflect God’s nature.

Meeting New People

What’s the best way to meet new people while traveling? I usually meet new people when I stay in hotels, or going to a town event. It used to be as easy as saying “hello” to a stranger but I am very cautious to do that anymore because of safety boundaries and modern social norms as well as digital habits.

Reflecting A Mirror: The Bible As A Mirror

James 1:22-25 describes the Bible functioning as a tool that reveals our inner condition rather than our physical appearance.

“Be doers of the Word, and not only hearers, deluding your own selves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doers, he is like a man looking at his natural face in a mirror, for he sees himself, and goes away, and immediately forgets what kind of man he was. But he who looks into the perfect Torah (Bible) of freedom, and continues, not being a hearer who forgets, but a doer of the work, this man will be blessed in what he does.” (Messianic)

Just as a physical mirror show dirt on our face, scripture reveals internal realities like motives, hidden sins, and character flaws.

There is truth in the saying “When you read the Bible, the Bible reads you.”

James warns us against being a ‘hearers only” who looks into the mirror, and walks away then immediately forgets what they look like. True engagement means acting on what is revealed.

Rather than using the Word as a weapon to point out others’ flaws, the Bible calls us to look inward first before judging anyone else.

When we use the Bible as a mirror we can transform ourselves into grace. The reflection is not meant to condemn or crush anyone, but to guide us toward personal renewal, repentance, and a deeper likeness to Jesus.

If Aliens Arrived Tomorrow

If aliens arrived tomorrow, what’s the first thing you’d ask them? There are many theories about aliens and there have been for years. I don’t think aliens are as they’re portrayed. My opinion is that it goes along with what Jesus told his disciples “As it was in the days of Noah, so will it be at the coming of the Son of Man. The Book of Enoch and extra-biblical texts, tell us the earth was populated by “The Watchers” or “fallen angels” as well as “The Nephilim” or “Giants” who were violent tyrants who filled the earth with lawlessness, fighting, and oppression, which ultimately triggered the “great flood” as an act of divine judgment. Since the Watchers, or fallen angels, were from heaven, they were spirits, not human. If I had to guess I would think what we call aliens is something from, the days of Noah. Of course, this is just my opinion and nothing more.

If “Aliens” arrive tomorrow I would stay as far away from this as possible. Not asking them anything.

The Journey Of Faith: Choosing God

One of the greatest abilities that separates humans from the rest of God’s creation is our ability to recognize alternatives, to weigh options, and there possible consequences and them to make an informed decision. We can look into our past and see the decisions we have made and the consequences of those decisions. They have formed us into who we are today. Some choices are having heavy consequences, and others do not.

From the beginning of creation, people have had to make decisions. And we haven’t always made wise ones. We all heard about Adam and Eve’s decision to go against the will of God. Since then we’ve all chosen foolishly. We have made choices that lead us away from God. Choices that are outside of God’s will for us. Choices that go against God’s teaching.

I believe that choosing who or what we serve is the most important choice we can make. A journey of faith -choosing God is a daily spiritual commitment to trust His voice and align our life with His Word over the noise of the world.

I won’t tell you the faith journey isn’t easy. Many think that believing is all that is needed but it’s only the first step onto the narrow pathway. Matthew 7:13-14 tells us, “Enter by the narrow gate, for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter in by it. How narrow is the gate, and restricted is the way that leads to life! Few are those who find it.” The next steps put a believer on the road of trial and blessings as we walk out a new life with Jesus. Staying close to Jesus, requires reading the Bible, listening and obeying and sometimes personal sacrifices.This is a long, hard journey of transformation. And it’s the kind of faith that can impact the world.