"Because if you acknowledge and confess with your lips
that Jesus is Lord and believe-adhere to, trust in, and rely
on the truth-that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved.
For with the heart a person believes-adheres to, trusts in
and relies on Christ and is so justified, declared righteous,
acceptable to God and with the mouth declares openly
and speaks out freely his faith and confirms his salvation."
(Romans 10:9-10)
These are very simple, yet, powerful passages of Scripture.
Paul was writing his letter to the believers in Rome, while
staying at Corinth, where he spent three months, (Acts: 20:3)
in preparation for his upcoming trip to be with them.
Once considered one of the most powerful and wealthiest
city-states in Greece, the seaport of Corinth was well known
as the epicenter for the worship of Aphrodite, the Greek goddess
of love and beauty, and the patroness of prostitution.
Through the leading and guidance of the Ruach ha-kodesh, (Holy Spirit)
Paul spoke the truth of God's Word to the Gentile (non-Jewish) population
at Corinth and established one of the early Christian churches there.
If you read further into Romans 10, Paul exhorted his listeners, "No man who
believes in Him, the Lord Jesus Christ, will ever be put to shame or disappointed."
(Romans 10:11)
Paul also emphasized through his teachings that believers can not
expect to find true and lasting happiness in this world.
As believers in Messiah, we cannot place our trust in frail humanity or
the world system. And while advanced technology has made life easier
and more convenient for many people as compared to the lives of
people in past generations, it too, has its flaws, some of which, if
utilized properly, can threaten the very existence of life on earth.
As the apostle Paul witnessed at Corinth, the world has always been full
of deception and greed, ignorance and misery. Beginning with the fall
of Adam in the Garden, the "system" has always stood in opposition
to the plans and purposes of God, as it is overseen by the prideful
god of this world, the accuser of the brethren called Satan.
As Jesus explained, "He was a murderer from the beginning
and does not stand in truth, because there is no truth in him.
When he speaks a falsehood, he speaks what is natural
to him, for he is a liar himself and the father of lies
and of all that is false."
(John 8:44)
Despite the circumstances of daily living in a lost and fallen world it is
important to remember that God is still very much in control of everything.
Believers can rejoice in our Blessed Hope, the Lord Jesus Christ.
As the psalmist declared, "At the beginning You existed and laid
the foundations of the earth; the heavens are the work of Your hands."
(Psalm 102:25)
The Book of Hebrews further attests: "He is the sole expression
of the glory of God, the Light-being, the out-raying of radiance
of the divine and He is the perfect imprint, and the very image
of God's nature, upholding and maintaining and guiding and
propelling the universe by His mighty word of power.
When He had offering Himself, accomplished our
cleansing of sins and riddance of guilt, He sat down
at the right hand of the divine Majesty on high."
(Hebrews: 1:3)
One day, at the appointed time, God will send His beloved Son
to gather His elect from the four corners of the earth. This is not
the Second Coming. Believers in Messiah Who are His body
will be caught up along with the bodies of those who have died
in Him, to meet the Lord in the clouds, in the air,
and so we shall be with Him for all eternity.
But of that day or hour, no one knows. There are many false
teachings within the Church today and one is that the Rapture,
or the catching away of believers before the Great Tribulation,
is not going to happen-contradicting what the apostle Paul
wrote- to encourage persecuted believers in Thessalonica:
"For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a
loud cry of summons, with the shout of an archangel,
and the blast of the trumpet of God. And those who
have departed this life in Christ shall rise first.
Then we, the living ones who remain on earth
shall simultaneously be caught up along with
the resurrected dead in the clouds to meet
the Lord in the air; and so always through
the eternity of the eternities
we shall be with the Lord."
(1Thessalonians 4:16-17)
Christians who hold to a "never going to happen" Rapture view, who
declare that believers will endure the horrors of the Tribulation, should
be aware that many of our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ are
suffering tremendous persecution right now. In the African
nation of Nigeria for example, genocide against believers
is occurring on a daily basis.
Our brothers and sisters in Christ there are being
hunted down like animals and mercilessly slaughter
for their faith by Islamic terrorist groups.
Aren't these believers suffering through tribulation
already? Are those who decry the Rapture think
that these people will have to endure through
the forthcoming Great Tribulation too?
The apostle Paul confirmed that believers in Messiah
will not suffer through the Great Tribulation.
As he attested in 1 Thessalonians 5:9:
"For God has not appointed us to incur His wrath,
(The Great Tribulation, which is His final judgment
on a wicked and unbelieving world) "... but that we
might obtain salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ,
Who died for us so that whether we are still alive
or are dead at Christ's appearing, we might live
together with Him and share His life."
People in the day of Noah felt the same way about the impending Flood
as many Christians believe today about the forthcoming Rapture.
They laughed and scoffed at Noah, a man who not only walked with God,
but listened to His Voice and built the ark, which some biblical scholars
believe took him about thirty years to complete.
People thought Noah was wasting his time. He was
believing in something that will never happen, they said.
Noah continued to trust and to obey the Lord.
The people continued to laugh and ridicule Noah.
Until the day when the waters came
and covered the entire earth.
Just as God promised.
With the approach of Father's Day, many people, and especially
many women, feel a sense of sadness and even anger at the
annual celebration of fatherhood, especially those who never
had a good relationship with their father, or who have
been abandoned by a husband who once promised to
love and honor them, "Till death do us part."
America has an epidemic of fatherless homes today.
Single mothers raising children alone far out number
married couples with children.
One of the beautiful attributes of God is that He means what He says.
"For your Maker is your Husband-the Lord of hosts is His name-
and the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;
the God of the whole earth He is called."
(Isaiah 54:5)
Like a good husband, the Lord is steady and dependable,
tender and compassionate, patient and full of mercy,
with an unconditional love for His children.
While He has zero tolerance for sin, He will never
leave or forsake those who love and honor His name.
In a world full of increasing human and spiritual
turmoil and darkness, you will experience true and
lasting peace if you place your complete hope
and trust in Him.
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