Author: Don Gerrity

In This Life, You Will Have Trouble – Jesus Christ

Don Gerrity Q&A: The Truth About...
In This Life, You Will Have Trouble – Jesus Christ

We Have Victory Through Christ Jesus

Jesus tells the Apostles and to each of us plainly and truthfully,  “These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 KJV)

We all have ups and downs in life and no one lives a completely trouble free life. We all have good times and bad times. Of course, we all like the song that sings, “Let the good times roll!”.

You can be sure, and I mean very sure, that trouble will eventually strike your life. Now each of us will have different degrees of trouble but we all will experience it. Such times will test our faith. That is, we will see how much faith we truly have and just how much we need to rely on God. You may look at some people and think that they have it made; they do not have the problems I am facing, right? The truth is everyone has obstacles and troubles that only God knows they are dealing with. It is true that some may be experiencing more severe troubles than another person’s troubles. But many times you don’t even know the hard time they may be going through. It could be a physical ailment. It could be severe depression. Whatever it is, God will allow troubles into a person’s life and it is for a purpose. But the end result will be for your own good, even if it does not ‘feel’ like it. I emphasize the word “feel” because we need to realize that emotions can be deceptive. We should not go just by our emotions; what we need is the facts and the truth regarding bad times and bad situations we find ourselves in.

“And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 KJV)

Why the trouble then?

You should know that whatever God purposes is always good. But good for who you may ask? I mean we don’t like the trials and bad times. Let’s face it, they are no fun at all. However, if God allows it in your life, there is a purpose He has for it and it is to:  

1. Build Your Confidence And Faith In God.

As you look at your past you will see how God was with you through your trials and bad times in life.Sometimes, as you do, you will realize and see His purpose for it. Your trust in God will increase with each trial – whether you passed or failed, you have learned.

2. God Is Good. God Loves You.

What ever happens know and trust this as a fact. God gave His own Son to take on the punishment for our sins. And it was done in a very horrific way. Jesus actually became our sin (2 Corinthians 5:21). The Father turned away from Jesus and Christ felt God’s presence leave.

In utter anguish Jesus, “…cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46 KJV)

Notice here that Jesus now says “My God” and not “My Father”. During His ministry He always called God, His “Father”, an endearing name, showing an intimate bond, but here Jesus calls out to “My God”. The intimate Father/Son bond was temporarily severed. All the physical pain and suffering was bad enough but then Jesus, who always had the presence of God for all eternity past, was found to be alone as his human side took on the punishment for our sins.

There is no doubt of God’s love because “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?” (Romans 8:32 KJV)

You see, God must also be true to His own never changing character. You see, God never changes.

“For I am the Lord, I change not…”
(Malachi 3:6 KJV)

“Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever.”
(Hebrews 13:8 KJV)

“Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” (James 1:17 KJV)

To put this in proper perspective;  God must punish the sinner to meet His character of 100% Justice. Yet God loves us 100% and is 100% full of mercy. In order to meet the demands of His Holy perfect never ending character He became human (Jesus the Christ), lived a sinless life and Jesus took the punishment for our sin so that God’s justice would be paid.

Then in His perfect mercy, we are provided a way to accept this pardon and have a restored relationship with God. Bad things can sometimes be because God has a plan and it is for the good of you, your loved ones, or even strangers. And we may not get the answer to the question “why” all the time. Many times we find out later “why” as we look back. Other times, we will not know the full reasons until we reach Heaven.

3. If Jesus had trouble, why should we be any different?

The ultimate example is Jesus the Christ Himself. As God, He allowed Himself to become human and a little lower than the angels in rank (Psalm 8:5). Jesus became human and humbled Himself in a spectacular way. He was misunderstood.

“…He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; The chastisement for our peace was upon Him.” (Isaiah 53:5 KJV).

He was spit on, and mocked, as “They they spat in His face and beat Him; and others struck Him with the palms of their hands, saying, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who is the one who struck You?” (Matthew 26:67-69). Jesus was whipped to the point of being bodily no longer familiar. He was nailed to a cross, stabbed in the side. Horrible stuff! The evening before all this took place Jesus, knowing what was about to happen to Him was deeply distressed.

Jesus “…Then cometh Jesus with them unto a place called Gethsemane, and saith unto the disciples, Sit ye here, while I go and pray yonder. And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy. Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. And he went a little farther, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.” (Matthew 26:36-39  KJV)

Three words, “but as You will” is key to how we should look at the bad times in our life. It is okay to pray to God if there is another way..some other way, a different way where I am not going through this time of trouble, please do so. But also keep in mind what God’s plan may be and that you add “Your will be done.” Because ultimately.. that is the RIGHT WAY TO GO! God has a purpose in allowing this trouble into your life. And remember that on the third day after His death, Jesus rose from the dead and has now redeemed humankind through all that pain and trouble. Jesus cried out on the cross in a loud voice, “It Is Finished!”. What was finished? God’s purpose for His suffering and pain, that is what. God’s perfect purpose. Jesus defeated the efforts of Satan and Christ is seated at the right hand of the Father in power. He will return, take over the world wide government and rule on the Earth forever. And if Jesus had trouble as the Son of God, can we expect any different in our lives? Jesus told us ,

“Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him.” (John 13:16 KJV)

Besides, how can you truly help a person in need if you do not understand what it is really like to be in their shoes. God can use the negative experiences in your life for the good of others. It is one thing to tell someone about something but until they experience it for themselves a person cannot really understand it. For example, before I had children I heard stories about what it is like to be a parent. But until I had children of my own, I really didn’t get the whole truth and understanding about being a parent. Then I heard and generally understood but now I know that I know, that I fully Know! I am living that experience first hand. It is easy to help another new parent with their first baby or encourage them now because I really “get it” when their kid is screaming in a restaurant – while all people without kids are being judgmental about the event. I tend to encourage them “we all been there, don’t worry about it-it’s normal.” A small word and encouraging smile goes a long way! People without kids don’t truly understand it because they do not yet have children of their own.

Is It Okay To Ask God The Question ‘Why’?

It is the troubled times in our lives, some very serious or even life threatening, that we tend to ask God, the question ‘WHY’? Why did you allow this bad situation in my life? Why..Why..why?? Does God get mad at us when we do this? Let’s look at Jesus’ life again. Days before the death of Lazarus a messenger was sent to Jesus to inform Him that his close friend Lazarus was dying. You would expect Christ to go to him immediately and heal him as he did for so many others. Instead Jesus delayed on purpose,

“Now a certain man was sick, named Lazarus, of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. (It was that Mary which anointed the Lord with ointment, and wiped his feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick.) Therefore his sisters sent unto him, saying, Lord, behold, he whom thou lovest is sick. When Jesus heard that, he said, This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God might be glorified thereby. Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode TWO DAYS STILL in the same place where he was.  Then after that saith he to his disciples, Let us go into Judaea again.” (John 11:1-7 KJV)

Jesus stayed where He was for TWO MORE DAYS and then made the trip back to Judea where Lazarus and his sisters lived. We can see that Jesus had a special friendship and bond with this family so why the delay? Jesus did state the reasons why when He said “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” You can see here that God has a purpose that is about to be revealed through this painful experience the family and friends of Lazarus are going through. When Jesus arrived He was met by Martha, the sister of Lazarus.

“Then when Jesus came, he found that he had lain in the grave four days already. Now Bethany was nigh unto Jerusalem, about fifteen furlongs off: And many of the Jews came to Martha and Mary, to comfort them concerning their brother. Then Martha, as soon as she heard that Jesus was coming, went and met him: but Mary sat still in the house. Then said Martha unto Jesus, Lord, if thou hadst been here, my brother had not died. But I know, that even now, whatsoever thou wilt ask of God, God will give it thee.“ (John 11:17-22 KJV)

So Jesus shows up at the families home but Lazarus had already died by the time Jesus arrives and was in the tomb four days. The Jewish custom of that day is that after four days, the person’s spirit went on and left the body. A “no turning back” point. In other words, Lazarus was 100% dead. Martha knew Jesus was the Son of God, yet her heart was so grieved she just blurted it out to Jesus “…if you had been here”. She is asking the question “why were you not here to save Lazarus your close friend?” And then she used her faith in Jesus saying “but whatever you ask God I know you can perform it!”

“Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die. Believest thou this? She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” (John 11:23-27 KJV)

We can see that Martha has faith in Christ as she states she knows Lazarus will rise again at the resurrection in the future. Now God reveals His purpose for Lazarus’ death. Jesus is using this to show everyone that He is the Messiah. Yes Jesus did rise others from death. But never someone dead for four whole days! Something else to note here is where Jesus talked about the resurrection. Jesus said, “I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in Me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in Me shall never die.” At first glance it seems Jesus is repeating Himself but reality is He is not. He is describing two separate groups of believers resurrected..the dead in Christ and those alive and remaining at the rapture event.

“Jesus therefore again groaning in himself cometh to the grave. It was a cave, and a stone lay upon it. Jesus said, Take ye away the stone. Martha, the sister of him that was dead, saith unto him, Lord, by this time he stinketh: for he hath been dead four days. Jesus saith unto her, Said I not unto thee, that, if thou wouldest believe, thou shouldest see the glory of God? Then they took away the stone from the place where the dead was laid. And Jesus lifted up his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast heard me. And I knew that thou hearest me always: but because of the people which stand by I said it, that they may believe that thou hast sent me. And when he thus had spoken, he cried with a loud voice, Lazarus, come forth. And he that was dead came forth, bound hand and foot with grave clothes: and his face was bound about with a napkin. Jesus saith unto them, Loose him, and let him go.” (John 11:38-44 KJV)

It was a horrible event to Lazarus, his sisters Martha and Mary and to Jesus as Lazarus was a close friend. Yet it was purposed by God to reveal to everyone that Jesus is sent from God, to show the love and resurrection power of God, and their sadness did a 180 degrees… To complete joy. And this is the event that led to the cross because after this the religious leaders sought to kill Jesus because they knew the people would start following Christ instead of them. They would start to lose their power.

It’s God’s Way In His Good Time

We must learn that God will not do everything the way you expect, or when you expect it. But you can have complete trust that the ultimate outcome will build your character, help you help others, bless you or those around you, and still meet God’s perfect Holy character while fulfilling His plan for humankind. And sometimes, we can’t see any good coming from such a horrible life event. Some end in death even. But God will use it for good. He said so.. And so it will be so. Let God be good and every man a liar. God is good! And it is alright to pour out our hearts to God and ask, or cry out, ‘WHY?!?!‘. Martha did and Jesus did not rebuke her but encouraged her faith in Him. King David did (Psalm 62:8) and he tells us to” pour out heart to God”. God called David a man after his own heart. Above all, being truthful to God and running to God will result in Him holding you, strengthening you and helping you throughout the situation. In fact, for me, it is in the midst of these life trials that I feel God’s presence with me the strongest. God tells us that when we are weak, God is strong with us.

“He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength.” (Isaiah 40:29 KJV)

If you are in the midst of a small or humongous trial believe that God has not abandoned you. He is with you. He has a plan. Trust in Him. We will lack in faith in this at times (honestly I blew it just before writing this article. I let my emotions get too involved in my trial…that is why I wrote this!) but always come back after the emotions of it and believe what God tells us:

“The Lord also will be a refuge for the oppressed, a refuge in times of trouble.” (Psalm 9:9 KJV)

“Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.” (Hebrews 13:5 KJV)

The Blood Of Christ And The Passover

Don Gerrity Q&A: Knowing God, Q&A: The Truth About...
The Blood Of Christ And The Passover

“And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”
(Exodus 12:13 KJV)

This scripture is from the time of the Exodus when Moses led the enslaved Hebrew people out of Egypt. God told Moses to tell the Hebrew people to sacrifice a Lamb or Goat, without blemish.

“And ye shall keep it up until the fourteenth day of the same month: and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood, and strike it on the two side posts and on the upper door post of the houses, wherein they shall eat it.”
(Exodus 12:6-7 KJV)

What was the reason or purpose for this? God continues,

“And thus shall ye eat it; with your loins girded, your shoes on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and ye shall eat it in haste: it is the Lord‘s passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt this night, and will smite all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the Lord. And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.”
(Exodus 12: 11-13 KJV)

If you think about this for a moment, why did God have to see the blood of the door posts to pass over them? As God, He knew full well where all the Hebrews were located to pass over them, right? Again, this Scripture gives us the answer to this when it states, “Now the blood shall be a sign for ‘you’. Notice it was not a sign for God to know where the Hebrews were located! It was a sign for YOU, is what it says. That is by doing this and placing the blood on the doors as instructed they showed that they have faith and believe that God will save them. How? By pure FAITH! It was a declaration by those that believed in God to any of the Hebrews (and Egyptians) that did not believe in God at that time.

Remember, the Hebrews were enslaved to hard labor in Egypt for 400 years! That is a long time. Do you think that some of the millions of Hebrews in Egypt gave up on God’s promise to free them? It may well be that some of the Hebrews did not believe in God anymore. So the blood on the doors was a sign for all the Hebrews (YOU), those that by faith believe God is going to save them and pass them over for the judgement of God. Any Hebrew or Egyptian household with a first born that did not place the blood as told, surely had their first born die. Those Hebrews that did not believe may have repented after this happened and as such were saved and freed, the hard way; that is they first seen the judgment of God and many who did not place the blood on the doors, may have turned to God as well.

If this is the case, which does seem reasonable, it may be a foreshadowing of our times in that God, through Christians witnessing about salvation, are telling all of the unrepentant sinners to accept the gift of salvation through the blood of Jesus Christ and be saved from the coming judgements of God. Yet many will not believe and will go through the Great Tribulation period in the future where they will see for themselves the result of our sins. Many of who will then turn back to God for salvation.

The Bible does indicate that during the Tribulation period on Earth that the most people in history will turn to God and accept salvation through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is like doubting Thomas who did not believe that Christ was risen until he could see and touch Him. And when he seen and touched the risen Lord, THEN he truly believed.

The Hebrews were told by God, through Moses, to place some blood of the sacrifice on the top of the door, and to each side of the door. If you have not figured that out yet, that make the cross in blood. The animal sacrifice of a Lamb or Goat without blemish is a foreshadowing of Jesus Christ, (referred to many times in the Bible as the Lamb of God) the only innocent and sinless human being (without blemish) sacrificed in blood on the cross for our sins. The act of doing what was told and actually placing that blood on the outside of their doors was an act of belief and faith in God that they would be saved from the death judgement that was coming to all the first born of Egypt because of Pharaoh’s refusal to let God’s enslaved people go free.

Notice that God did not tell them to go do good deeds and thus be saved. No, it is God alone that would save them. And when you realize that the Lord and God of the Old Testament was Jesus Christ incarnate, (John 5:46) (that is Christ prior to His human birth) this is even more significant!

In the same way, it is the belief and faith a Christian has in Jesus Christ on the cross taking the punishment for our sins, even though He was innocent and sinless, that covers us from the Wrath to come on all the unrepentant. Either the wrath at the Great Tribulation period in our near future (here is an overview article on what the Tribulation period is from gotquestions.org), or saving us from the everlasting punishment of the wicked and unbelieving at the Great White Throne Judgement after the 1000 years of peace on Earth with Christ ruling.

Side Note: The Great White Throne Judgement is where all the unrepentant and what the Bible calls ‘The Wicked’, will be judged according to their works and will be cast into a place the Bible calls the Lake Of Fire which was prepared for Satan and the fallen angels in everlasting punishment. (Revelation 20:11-15)

The point of this article is that it was their faith in God alone that saved them at the Exodus and it is by faith alone, without works that a person’s sins are completely forgiven. When God looks at a repentant sinner, one who accepted God’s free gift of forgiveness through Christ’s Act of Atonement, He does not see the sins. Instead He sees the perfect righteousness of Christ. Did you know that when you became a believer in Christ that you became the righteousness of God in Him? Some Christians are shocked and even upset when I tell them this but it is very Scriptural. Believers are the righteousness of God in Christ! (whether they like it or feel it or not).

“For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.“ (2 Corinthians 5:21 KJV)

“And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the Lord: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more. (Jeremiah 31:34 KJV)

“For as the heaven is high above the earth, so great is his mercy toward them that fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far hath he removed our transgressions from us. Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him.” (Psalms 103:11-13 KJV)

Jesus became the final, once and for all, true Passover for all humankind. The sacrificial Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the whole world for all who believe (John 1:29).

Do you need to have the door posts of your life brushed with the blood of Christ to forgive your sins and avoid being part of the judgement of God Almighty?

We ALL do!

The Holy Spirit Intercedes For Us

Don Gerrity Q&A: Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit

“Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:26-28 KJV)

You know those times when something happens in our life so stressful and so confusing that we just do not have the words and we just do not know what it is we should pray? Either an extremely stressful situation at work or a relationship issue that you do not know how to resolve? Some event that leaves you utterly confused as to what God is doing and why He allows things that are not very comfortable in our lives. Such incidents can have you feeling that you do not know how you should pray to God about the situation. Sometimes all you can do is groan, scream or just cry – fully overwhelmed. You do not want to pray in a way opposite to what God wants to accomplish but you just don’t know how you should pray and your feelings make things very confusing.

Regardless of the situation you need to pray and it is good to know that the Holy Spirit knows the full situation and He makes intercession for you to the Father. And no matter what the situation is, minor or major, you can rest assured that nothing surprises God!

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.” (Romans 8:28 KJV)

The word ALL means every situation in life you find yourself in. The good, the bad.. all of it. God knew the situation you would be in before you got to that point in your life. God goes before you, before you reach that point and He already has plans to use it for your good! (Deuteronomy 1:30) Rest assured that God is in complete control of every situation you are in at every point of your life. God is not the one that brings evil against you but He can and will use the situation for your good. When Jesus was before Pilate a dialogue exchange happened as we see in the book of John,

“Then saith Pilate unto him, Speakest thou not unto me? knowest thou not that I have power to crucify thee, and have power to release thee? Jesus answered, Thou couldest have no power at all against me, except it were given thee from above: therefore he that delivered me unto thee hath the greater sin.” (John 19:10-11 KJV)

God gives us free will. A will to do good or to do evil. If God allowed the crucifixion to happen to His Son, He can also allow things to happen to us. Not that God causes evil to happen to us. That is from Satan and because of our own sin nature. But ask yourself this; what if God intervened and did not allow Jesus to be crucified? Where would we be? We would be headed for everlasting punishment. The people cried out to crucify Jesus but He allowed it so that the world could be saved. God used this very extremely bad situation to occur for us. And the end result is that many will receive Christ as their Lord and savior and Christ now sits at the right hand of the Father.

You see, what we sometimes see as bad in our lives may be something that God will use for good. So you do not understand what is happening to you and you do not know how to pray? The Holy Spirit will intercede for you and God will respond in the best way and always for your good and the good of those around you.

Why Are There So Many Ups & Downs In Life?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living
Why Are There So Many Ups & Downs In Life?

“Therefore, my brothers, you whom I love and long for, my joy and crown, that is how you should stand firm in the Lord, dear friends!” (Philippians 4:1 KJV)

Life is such a roller coaster ride, seemingly without purpose at times, isn’t it? It is going along straight with some small climbs but then a steep climb starts and then at the worst time…relief and woooossh back to the straight and easier line of sight. Up and down, sharp curves, good times and bad times, Peace and war.

What about after you become a Christian? Life is great and everything goes smoothly if you are Christian right? When you become a Christian and start living right nothing bad will come your way right? No hardship shall find you. You shall prosper in money and everything you do and put your mind to will succeed. At least, that is what several “evangelists” say on your TV. But is that true? Is that a Biblical fact?

Not only is that not true, it is also not found in the Scriptures of the bible. If anything, the word of God is very clearly opposed to this view. Those that teach that when a person becomes a Christian “life gets easy” are not only wrong in their ideas, they are going against the purposes of God and causing people to speak badly of the true Christian faith. So many non believers in Christ think that Christians are “goody two shoes“. That Christians think they are better then the rest of the world. This view is further enhanced by the false religions claiming to be “Christian”, but who teach things very clearly against the word of God.

In contrast, Christians are no different then current non believers. We all sin against God. The Christian who says he does not sin is a liar according to the Scriptures.

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10 KJV)

Christians are only different in that we have been forgiven of our sins and the righteousness of Christ is now upon us. We have been justified and set free from our debt of sin and the eternal punishment of sin against a Holy God. It is not that we make ourselves Holy. It is a gift from God.

“For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” (Romans 6:23 KJV)

In Philippians 4 we can see what we, as those that believe in Christ, should do to help in the renewing of our mind. The Holy Spirit is the one that renews the minds of Christians but we can apparently help by lining ourselves up with what the Holy Spirit is doing; making us more and more like Jesus.

“Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” (Philippians 4:8-9 KJV)

In Philippians, it also reads,

“Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” (Philippians 4:4-5 KJV)

It sounds a bit like Christians have everything easy without hardship right? Well, not really. This passage uses the word “always”. When things are going well it is easy to rejoice. But what about when things go wrong? And not to plan? This is saying no matter if things are going well or bad that we are to “rejoice!”. That is a big difference. Philippians continues and reads,

“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.” (Philippians 4:6-9 KJV)

Paul is saying for Christians to not be anxious about anything. He did not say that in our lives there would not be occurrences that we would not be anxious over. He did not say it was easy to not be anxious over such things either. He said to pray to God. Not to beg God but to pray and know and have faith that God listens and that God truly does love you and cares more then we can understand. Having such faith, we should pray with “thanksgiving“, even in the bad times understanding and trusting that God has a purpose for this in your life and in the life of others.

Jesus said many times that the “just” (Christians who have been justified by believing in the completed atonement Christ provided on the cross) shall live by “faith”. (Romans 1:1, Galatians 3:11) Faith in what you ask? Faith in Jesus Christ. Faith that there is a God and that God is right there with you in your circumstances and that

“… we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28 KJV).

Not just the good times in life, it says in “all things”; the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

We are to have faith in the fact that God is in full charge. No matter what circumstance you find yourself in, God has a plan. God is NOT surprised by ANYTHING!

He goes before you and knows the entirety of your life. His ways are far above our understanding but through your life as a believer you can see the answer of “why” from looking back after having gone through a situation.

And in some cases we may not understand the answer to “Why has this happened to me?” until after the resurrection. But you can be assured that God is in full control and we can trust Him. And in every battle we face in life God equips us to accomplish the task. Paul explains it this way in Philippians 4,

“ Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content. I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need. I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.” (Philippians 4:11-13 KJV)

The Apostle Paul. You know the story, Saul who met Jesus risen on the road to Damascus? Saul who was blinded by Jesus and asked why he was persecuting Christians? After his conversion from a killer of Christians and given the new name “Paul”, to becoming maybe one of the most influential teaching Apostles in all of history; he certainly did not have the “easy” life. Instead he was imprisoned, beaten many many times. So much of what we would call “bad” happened to him in his Christian walk. But God had a plan for his life and he would not have had the impact on the world (even to this day!) had he received the “easy life” after conversion. I end this topic the way I started it:

“Therefore, my brethren dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and crown, so stand fast in the Lord, my dearly beloved.” (Philippians 4:1 KJV)

Is God With Me In My Battles Of Life?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living

“And he said, Hearken ye, all Judah, and ye inhabitants of Jerusalem, and thou king Jehoshaphat, Thus saith the Lord unto you, Be not afraid nor dismayed by reason of this great multitude; for the battle is not yours, but God’s. ” (2 Chronicles 20:15 KJV)  

Remember what Jesus said to the Apostles (and us) just before He ascended? He said,

“Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the world. Amen.” (Matthew 28:20 KJV)

As a born again believer in Christ, the Holy Spirit lives within you. And so when trouble comes knocking at your door not only is God not surprised by it, He is right there WITH YOU and He will see you through it.

It is said that the “…just shall live by faith” (Romans 1:17). So if you believe God is with you who can really go up against you? Jesus paid it ALL on that cross and believers have the very righteousness of Christ.

When you face an alarming and huge obstacle in your life, the very first place to go is to God! Know that He will take up every just battle for you.

Have faith. Believe it. RECEIVE IT… based on the promises in the Bible, the word of God, and then watch how God shows up!

And in my experience, He shows up in ways you would never expect just so that you know that He is the one that fought the battle.

God loves to increase our faith in Him!

The Importance Of Hearing God’s Word

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living
The Importance Of Hearing God’s Word

“So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”
( Romans 10:17 KJV)

You may have heard by many preachers and teachers something along the lines of  “Don’t be just readers of the Bible but be doers.”  Well, that is true to some extent. We really should apply what the Bible and God says into our daily life. However, it is the Holy Spirit doing the good works and helping us to bear good fruit (Read my article The True Vine). In fact, it is actually more important first to understand the truth of the Bible and God. It is the Holy Spirit that will guide your paths to understanding the truth about your life and your relationship to God.

Imagine a new kindergarten student on the first day of school. She is told the story of the three little pigs and the big bad wolf. She thinks it is a nice story but does not yet grasp the meaning of the story she has only heard once nor how it can apply to her life. Then she goes to her other friends not yet in school and tells them that the big bad wolf has a breathing problem because he is always huffing and puffing. She has not yet grasped the true meaning, nor has she learned something about life yet from the story. She just knows the pigs are good, the wolf is bad and he has a breathing problem.

So when a person is led by the Holy Spirit to learn about our sin nature and the perfect Holiness of God, and how we need to be saved; they may accept God’s gift of salvation by faith. However, that is only the starting point to learning about God and all the Bible truths yet to be discovered. Should such a very new crisp believer start informing their friends about the truth of the Bible? We would not expect a new born baby to go tell other new born babies about the greatness of apple sauce. New believers also need to do more study and learning so that they are equipped to help others know about the truth of the Bible and salvation.

And just think about the fact that Jesus did not start His ministry on Earth until He was 33 years old! And that was not a young person back in those days either. Jesus was brought up in the Jewish faith and reading and hearing the Torah was a constant standard practice. If it took the Son Of God, 33 years to start proclaiming salvation, who are we to start too early too? When I was 20, I never would have been able to write an article like the articles on Seekknock.org. It took a lot of Bible reading, and Bible message Hearing. And lots of true LISTENING!

Before I started reading the Bible, I was listening to Christian Radio broadcasts. These broadcasts were God’s way of filling my mind with the truth, a little at a time, over time. Through listening so much, it really impacted my life in learning what the Bible really says about life. It is amazing when I look back and see all God has shown me and taught me.. from HEARING the word. HEARING the word and LISTENING to the word are of paramount importance to a new believer! God wants to impact your MIND and have you change the way you think about who you are in Christ. Who the Bible says you are in Christ is the real you now! The Holy Spirit will do so by you hearing and listening and hearing and listening and hearing God’s word again and again. Until one day.. you you know you are finally abiding in the words of Jesus. The words of the truth and life everlasting.

And make sure you understand the difference between hearing the word of God and listening to the word of God. I guarantee you that you can hear a teacher talk all day but if you were not listening you will fail the upcoming exams.

Start listening WITH FAITH to God’s word.

“For unto us was the gospel preached, as well as unto them: but the word preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it.” (Hebrews 4:2 KJV)

Check out our YouTube channel (link at right side of website). Listen to the word of God and it will change you!

I have some great Bible verses below for you to read to yourself. These are the words of life you need to get into your mind again and again.

“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.” (Romans 12:1-2 KJV)

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

“Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law.” (Romans 3:28 KJV)

“But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness.” (Romans 4:5 KJV)

“For if any be a hearer of the word, and not a doer, he is like unto a man beholding his natural face in a glass: For he beholdeth himself, and goeth his way, and straightway forgetteth what manner of man he was. But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” (James 1:23-25 KJV)

“Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness. Incline your ear, and come unto me: hear, and your soul shall live; and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even the sure mercies of David.” (Isaiah 55:2-3 KJV)

“And said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his sight, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of these diseases upon thee, which I have brought upon the Egyptians: for I am the Lord that healeth thee.” (Exodus 15:26 KJV)

“And it shall come to pass, if thou shalt hearken diligently unto the voice of the Lord thy God, to observe and to do all his commandments which I command thee this day, that the Lord thy God will set thee on high above all nations of the earth: And all these blessings shall come on thee, and overtake thee, if thou shalt hearken unto the voice of the Lord thy God.” (Deuteronomy 28: 1-2 KJV)

“This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith? Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh? Have ye suffered so many things in vain? if it be yet in vain. He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?” ( Galatians 3:2-5 KJV)

It’s Not About Doing Good Things

It’s not about doing good works and then God will accept you. Once you become a believer in Jesus Christ and the atonement He purchased for you the Holy Spirit will start changing you from the inside outward.

So help that process by listening to the word, reading the word. Hearing the word. Keep on hearing and reading and hearing and reading the word of God. Start listening to Christian radio – it will change your life!

And God will renew your mind and when that happens, good works will follow that God has prepared for you to do. Allow God to change you from the inside out.

Do Born Again Christians Sin?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living, Q&A: Repentance, Q&A: The Truth About...
Do Born Again Christians Sin?

“Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.”
(1 Corinthians 6:9-10 KJV)

There are some who use this verse and say it is talking about believers in Christ and those that are redeemed by the atonement of our sin through Christ on the cross. That if you became saved through faith in Jesus and still commit sin that you are not saved and will not end up in heaven. But is this really the truth?

It is interesting that the people professing this leave out the very next verse  is,

“And such were some of you: but ye are WASHED, but ye are SANCTIFIED, but ye are JUSTIFIED in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11 KJV)

So you see the focus of this Scripture is talking about the unredeemed of Christ. Unbelievers. Those who basically not only sin but those that enjoy it and profess it openly. It is speaking about those who willingly refuse to accept Jesus as their justification and salvation through faith.

“And such were some of you”

Isn’t that a key pivotal point to this Scripture? Yes indeed! WE ALL HAVE SINNED! We all have such evil thoughts and intentions. Just a quick read of the Ten Commandments should be a mirror into your sinfulness. Jesus said that even looking at a woman in lust, we have broken a commandment. Not the act of having sex with her.. just lust looking at her. That goes for basically ever type of sin then. It is our sinful nature that is the object and why we need salvation through Christ.

Yes, we all have varying degrees of sin, some greater than others. But it is the sin nature within and even one sin is enough to disqualify a person from heaven. That is, outside of accepting the pardon for our sin through Jesus Christ’s act of atonement, whereby He became our sinful selves and took upon Himself the punishment for the sins of the world, we are lost and pat of the group the Bible calls the UNREDEEMED.

“The fool hath said in his heart, There is no God. Corrupt are they, and have done abominable iniquity: there is none that doeth good. God looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, that did seek God. Every one of them is gone back: they are altogether become filthy; there is none that doeth good, no, not one.” (Psalm 53-1-3 KJV)

This is the state of every human being born from the age of accountability UNTIL a person accepts the atonement of Jesus Christ, the ONLY way back to a right relationship with God.

John tells us like this,

“He that BELIEVETH ON HIM is not condemned: but he that BELIEVETH NOT is condemned already, because he hath NOT BELIEVED in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:18 KJV)

Jesus said it as clearly as possible when He said,

“…I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, BUT BY ME.” (John 14:6 KJV)

Do we sin after accepting Christ? Is it possible to never sin again from that point on? If you sin after salvation, are you no longer saved?

John tells us very clearly and simply,

” If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” (1 John 1:10 KJV)

So do not listen to anyone that tells you, you have to be perfectly sinless after salvation to keep your salvation. No, that is totally incorrect.

Should we avoid sinning? Yes! However, know that Salvation is the work of God. It is not something we can EARN by good works. Look at these Scriptures on this topic and that is VERY evident!

 

“For by grace you have been saved THROUGH FAITH, and that NOT of yourselves; it is the GIFT of God, NOT OF WORKS, lest anyone should boast. (Ephesians 2:8 KJV)

 

“Now to the one who works, his wage is NOT reckoned on the basis of grace, but as WHAT IS DUE. But to the one who DOES NOT WORK, BUT BELIEVES IN HIM (Jesus) WHO JUSTIFIES the ungodly, his faith is reckoned AS RIGHTEOUSNESS.” (Romans 4:4-5 KJV)

 

“So they asked Him, `What can we do in order to do what God wants us to do ? Jesus answered, `What God wants you to do is to BELIEVE in the one He sent.” (John 6:28-29 KJV)

Even Paul, the writer of 2/3 of the New Testament, the once Christian persecutor, who accepted Christ on the road to Damascus. Paul, the person that gave us the road map of salvation through faith and not works. Paul, who rebuked even Peter for allowing works into the salvation equation. Paul, Known as one of the greatest of the Apostles. What does the Apostle Paul have to say about this?

“This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners; of whom I am chief.” (1 Timothy 1:15 KJV)

Notice Paul did not say “of whom I ONCE was chief”. NO! “of whom I AM CHIEF”.

We are not to boast about how good we are as believers. We are not to look down upon the unredeemed as if you did something to be saved and you are better than they are as a person. NO! NO! NO!

The redeemed are SINNERS with a savior, Jesus the Christ. We were REDEEMED at a great cost to God! Jesus died for us, as us. He became our sins and took upon Himself the sins of the world and paid the price for our sins. Just as in court a debtor must pay his debts, we as sinners must pay our debt of sin which is eternal death in hell. But thanks be to our God that He sent His only Son, Jesus The Christ to pay our debt HIMSELF to redeem us. The sinless God-man, the perfect Sacrafice, Jesus, paid that debt on the cross. And whosoever believes this, receives a full pardon and now that the debt has been fully paid, we cannot be convicted of that debt ever again!

That is why Jesus cried out with a loud voice on the cross, “It is finished!” which in the Greek literally means PAID IN FULL.

Remember context when reading Scriptures. We are here discussing 1 Corinthians 6. But go to 2 Corinthians 5 and see that is reads,

“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new. And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation; To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, NOT IMPUTING THEIR TRESPASSES UNTO THEM; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might BE MADE THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF GOD IN HIM.” (2 Corinthians 5:17-21)

Am I Saying To Keep On Sinning? God forbid!

Absolutely not! As the Holy Spirit guides you into the truth, after your salvation, and as the Holy Spirit sanctifies you and renews your mind through the word of God, your world view will start changing. Your belief will change. Your very heart will change.

Good works will follow (but they are not what saves you… keep a humble attitude). Yes, try not to sin. But when you do fall into a sin or a sinful practice, the Holy Spirit will, not in conviction, show you your sinful way and help you correct it. Turn to God and ask for help and forgiveness. Boast to God about your weaknesses and boast in Christ instead.

 

“If we say that we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us” (1 John 1:10 KJV)

 

“My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.” (1 John 2:1-3 KJV)

 

“But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. Now early in the morning He came again into the temple, and all the people came to Him; and He sat down and taught them. Then the scribes and Pharisees brought to Him a woman caught in adultery. And when they had set her in the midst, they said to Him, “Teacher, this woman was caught in adultery, in the very act. Now Moses, in the law, commanded us that such should be stoned. But what do You say?” This they said, testing Him, that they might have something of which to accuse Him. But Jesus stooped down and wrote on the ground with His finger, as though He did not hear. So when they continued asking Him, He raised Himself up and said to them, “He who is without sin among you, let him throw a stone at her first.” And again He stooped down and wrote on the ground. Then those who heard it, being convicted by their conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the oldest even to the last. And Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had raised Himself up and saw no one but the woman, He said to her, “Woman, where are those accusers of yours? Has no one condemned you?” She said, “No one, Lord.” And Jesus said to her, “NEITHER DO I CONDEMN YOU; GO AND SIN NO MORE.” (John 8:1-11 KJV)

Our attitude as believers is to “Go and sin no more.” KNOWING that Christ no longer condemns you – you have been purchased and redeemed. Not that we will not still sin. It is an ongoing struggle to do what is right out of an attitude of gratitude for what Christ went through to redeem us with His blood.

Now, “go and sin no more” knowing that when we fail and sin, Christ is right there ready to catch us and help us overcome our failures. Look to Jesus for everything. He is EVERYTHING!

God Says: Haughty, is Naughty.

Don Gerrity Q&A: Christian Living, Q&A: The Truth About...
God Says: Haughty, is Naughty.

I speak to fellow believers, true Bible based Christians. We see today those who point their noses down on others who do wrong, who sin. As if, as a believer, we are any better than they when it comes to sinning?

Our commission, given by Jesus the Christ, is to preach the good news of the Gospel. To inform others the good news that the penalty for our sins was paid for in full by the Lord Jesus Christ. Not in a wishy washy way are our sins forgiven – Jesus paid for our freedom and forgiveness with HIS BLOOD, IN ANGUISH!

So great in love and mercy is our Lord towards us!

We Are Not To Be Judges Against Sins Of Others, Nor To Look Down Upon Such A Person Sinning.

“Judge not, that ye be not judged. For with what judgment ye judge, ye shall be judged: and with what measure ye mete, it shall be measured to you again. And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother’s eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye? Or how wilt thou say to thy brother, Let me pull out the mote out of thine eye; and, behold, a beam is in thine own eye? Thou hypocrite, first cast out the beam out of thine own eye; and then shalt thou see clearly to cast out the mote out of thy brother’s eye.” (Matthew 7:1-5 KJV)

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgement on someone else, for at whatever point you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgement do the same things. Now we know that God’s judgement against those who do such things is based on truth. So when you, a mere man, pass judgement on them and yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgement? Or do you show contempt for the riches of his kindness, tolerance and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you toward repentance? (Romans 2:1-4 KJV)

“Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)

Please brothers and sisters in Christ, know this; God hates a haughty spirit. God hates the sin of pride.

“Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall.” (Proverbs 16:18 KJV)

“Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.” (Philippians 2:3 KJV)

“I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me.” (Galatians 2:20 KJV)

But he giveth more grace. Wherefore he saith, God resisteth the proud, but giveth grace unto the humble.”
(James 4:6 KJV)

“Seest thou a man wise in his own conceit? there is more hope of a fool than of him.” (Proverbs 26:12 KJV)

 

The list of such Scriptures trying to get this into our thick skulls as believers goes on and on and on.

God Hates A Judgmental Haughty Spirit

We all are sinners deserving of eternal punishment. NO ONE can match up to the Holiness of God Almighty. We are saved only by the grace of God, through the hardship Jesus went through when He paid for our sins, so that we may be saved for all eternity. We are saved by God’s GRACE ALONE, through FAITH and BELIEF ALONE, in the atonement for our sins provided by the Son of God, Jesus Christ, on the cross ALONE. It is not by our being sinless or trying to be a better and good person than others. Yes,be a good witness and share the Gospel of our salvation. But do not judge other people’s sinning. Provide them with the truth in a loving manner. Everyone must choose fro themselves. It is between God and them and you witnessing is God working through you. But understand and be humble, and make no mistake about it, a persons salvation is all the work of God. We should be amazed He wants to even use us.

Think about That when you see others sinning.
Then in love act accordingly.

The Harpazo Rapture

Don Gerrity Q&A: Bible Prophecy & End Times, Q&A: Uncategorized List
The Harpazo Rapture

Although the word Rapture as it is commonly known today is not found in the English Bible, the event most certainly is.

“For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4:14-18 KJV)

Christ foretold that He will return for all that are His, all that believe in Christ who have accepted His atonement for our sins and know Him as Lord.

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” (John 14:1-3 KJV)

Jesus has been preparing this dwelling place for us since he ascended to Heaven over 2000 years ago and at that time the Apostles gazed into the sky as Jesus ascended. And then angels appeared , “Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11 KJV)

So a day is coming when Jesus will return for His own. He will not be born like last time. He already has a physical and yet spiritual immortal body that he took with him when he ascended! And He will return as He left us… In the heavens..literally right out of the sky!

“For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words.” (1 Thessalonians 4: 15-18 KJV)

Believers who accepted Christ’s atonement will be snatched off the planet swiftly. The Original Greek for ‘caught up ‘ is  ‘harpázō’ which means ‘properly, seize by force; snatch up, suddenly and decisively – like someone seizing bounty (spoil, a prize); to take by an open display of force (i.e. not covertly or secretly).’ 

At the Rapture, the dead in Christ will rise first. Then believers living at the time of the rapture will be given new spiritual, yet also physical bodies like Christ received when he rose from the dead and then “whoosh” we will meet him in the air. (And this all happens in a “twinkling of the eye” (1 Corinthians 15:52) – less time than an eye blink!

New Spiritual Bodies, Free From The Fleshly Sin Nature Think In The Mind

When Jesus resurrects the dead in Christ, they are given the same kind of spiritual/physical body Christ had when he rose from the dead. He could appear out of no where, walk through locked doors, yet he could be touched and felt. 1 Corinthians 15 starting verse 35 says of the new body at our resurrection,

“But some man will say, How are the dead raised up? and with what body do they come? Thou fool, that which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die: And that which thou sowest, thou sowest not that body that shall be, but bare grain, it may chance of wheat, or of some other grain: But God giveth it a body as it hath pleased him, and to every seed his own body. All flesh is not the same flesh: but there is one kind of flesh of men, another flesh of beasts, another of fishes, and another of birds. There are also celestial bodies, and bodies terrestrial: but the glory of the celestial is one, and the glory of the terrestrial is another.”

1 Corinthians 15 continues,

“So also is the resurrection of the dead. It is sown in corruption; it is raised in incorruption: It is sown in dishonour; it is raised in glory: it is sown in weakness; it is raised in power: It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit. Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual.”

And it continues showing that we all fell into sin from Adam’s original sin yet we are saved from the second Adam that knew no sin but died for us; Jesus the Christ!

“The first man is of the earth, earthy; the second man is the Lord from heaven. As is the earthy, such are they also that are earthy: and as is the heavenly, such are they also that are heavenly. And as we have borne the image of the earthy, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed.  
For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written,

Death is swallowed up in victory. O death, where is thy sting? O grave, where is thy victory?  

The sting of death is sin; and the strength of sin is the law.

But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.

Therefore, my beloved brethren, be ye stedfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, forasmuch as ye know that your labour is not in vain in the Lord.”

The last to be conquered is DEATH! At the Rapture event, Christ returns when unbelievers (and some believers too) are not expecting it. It is an event that can happen at anytime now. The Rapture is an Emergency Escape From The Tribulation period, from the Antichrist system ruling and the very Wrath of God coming upon the Earth.

The Apostle Paul told the Thessalonians,

“But of the times and the seasons, brethren, ye have no need that I write unto you. For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night. For when they shall say, Peace and safety; then sudden destruction cometh upon them, as travail upon a woman with child; and they shall not escape.

BUT YE, BETHREN,  are not in darkness, that that day should overtake you as a thief. Ye are all the children of light, and the children of the day: we are not of the night, nor of darkness.

Therefore let us not sleep, as do others; but let us watch and be sober. For they that sleep sleep in the night; and they that be drunken are drunken in the night.

But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.

For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ, Who died for us, that, whether we wake or sleep, we should live together with him. Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify one another, even as also ye do.” (1 Thessalonians 5: 1-11 KJV)

Take notice that this is saying that God has not appointed believers to face His Wrath. That is, the wrath of the Day of the Lord, the Tribulation period wrath judgements on Earth. It does not mean that Christians will never face persecution on Earth – that has been happening since Pentecost.

Christ said,

“These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 KJV)

The Amplified Bible shows this verse in this way,

“I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have [perfect] peace and confidence. In the world you have tribulation and trials and distress and frustration; but be of good cheer [take courage; be confident, certain, undaunted]! For I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33 AMP)

So redeemed Christians will face troubles and persecution and trials in life. But that is NOT the WRATH of God. It is the world placing these things on a Christian. The Wrath of God is on the unbeliever because an unbeliever has not accepted forgiveness of sins through Christ and as such their sin remains and they remain condemned already and the wrath of God is on them now (John 3:18). And the wrath of God will be poured out during the Day Of The Lord – a time period from the start of the Tribulation Period until he end of Christ’s 1000 year Kingdom age to come on Earth.

Remember, that Christ died on the cross and took away the sin of the whole world (1 John 2:2) and He gives us a free gift of salvation: a full pardon for our sin against God (Jesus and the Father are one and the same). As God, he is perfectly loving, yes. But he is also perfectly just. And since we know that the wages of sin is death, (Romans 6:23) what can God do? So He became human never sinning and died on the cross and took upon Himself the punishment for our sins. In His perfect mercy and love it was the only way to satisfy his very being. He was perfect in love and mercy to forgive us and His justice of death for sinning was also satisfied.

God will not force anyone to accept His free gift of salvation and eternal life. Those that reject such a great love and sacrifice have chosen themselves to reject God’s only way to save them from His wrath against sinners.

“And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent: Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.” (Acts 17:30-31 KJV)

What more do you want God to do? We sinned. He saved us and all we have to do is change our mind from good works for salvation and to believe the Gospel of Jesus Christ to receive His free gift of salvation. We are fast approaching Christ’s return for His bride of believers. The signs of the End times provided by Daniel and Jesus are already beginning to take place (Matthew 24:3-8), next on God’s appointed timeline is the Rapture and then the Seven Year Tribulation Period on those left behind. Christ’s offer of Salvation to you still stands!

“Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” (Revelation 3:20 KJV)

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved. He that believeth on him is not condemned: but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he hath not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.” (John 3:16-18 KJV)

Will you accept the forgiveness of Holy God Almighty? The simplicity of the Gospel message is, ask Jesus to forgive all your sins, past, present and future, believing He is God and that He died on the cross and took the punishment we deserved upon Himself so we could escape His wrath to come.

Repent Of How You Deal With Your Sin

The world’s way to God is through doing good works and religious rituals to make up for our sins and wrongful deeds against God and others. But the real way to God is by God’s grace through faith:

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9 KJV)

This is what true repentance is. It is God reaching out to us and providing a way for us sinners to be forgiven completely and for us to turn back towards God and His ways. It is acknowledging that we can not work our way to heaven. We have a fleshly sin nature since the fall (Adam and Eve). It is acknowledging that we have ALL sinned against God and we accept Jesus sacrifice for our sins. It is allowing God to change and renew our minds from the world view to God’s view. We turn from working away our sin debt, or out right ignoring it, (the World’s way) to accepting His love and forgiveness (God’s way).

A simple prayer in belief from your heart and your life will start changing. God will start changing you from the inside out through the Holy Spirit that dwells inside everyone who accepts the atonement of Christ. I am testifying that this is the truth. And believe me, if it could happen to me, it can happen to you!

The Rapture Is Coming Soon.. Are you Ready?

Here are some other great resources regarding this topic:

Third Party Website Articles:

Related You Tube Videos:

Parable Of The Fig Tree: The Last Days. How Close Are They?

Don Gerrity Q&A: Bible Prophecy & End Times, Q&A: Parables Of Jesus
Parable Of The Fig Tree: The Last Days. How Close Are They?

At least one third of the Bible is related to prophecy of future events. Some prophecies have been fulfilled exactly as foretold while others are still to be fulfilled in our future. Bible prophecy FULFILLED in specific detail is one of the main reasons we can know that the Bible is the true word of the true God.

“Remember the former things of old; for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure. (Isaiah 46:9-10)

In fact, God Himself says to false religions and false prophets,

“Present your case’, says the Lord. ‘Set forth your arguments,’ says Jacob’s King. ‘Bring in your idols, to tell us what is going to happen. Tell us what the former things were, so that we may consider them and know them and know their final outcome. Or declare to us the things to come, tell us what the future holds, so we may know that you are gods…” (Isaiah 41:22-23 )

This is how we know that the Bible is the true word of the True God. NO other religion has prophecy fulfilled in specific detail like the Bible does. Every prophecy has come true except those to yet be fulfilled. This fact is what made a believer out of me and since accepting Christ as my personal savior my knowledge of God has and continues to grow exponentially.

Eventually, I will start adding to a new articles in the category “Bible Prophecies For Our Time”, but for now let’s just get a quick and single prophecy that tells us how close we are to the Second Coming of Christ and the Rapture.

In Matthew 24 the apostles asked Jesus when would be the time of His coming and the sign of His coming again.

Jesus mentioned many various things which you can read for yourself in Matthew 24 such as wars and rumors of wars, earth quakes in diverse places, pestilences increasing, kingdom shall rise against kingdom (ex: Christian verses Islam/ east verses west)

All of these describe today but also other times in the past. But then Jesus gets very specific…

“Now learn this parable from the fig tree: When its branch has already become tender and puts forth leaves, you know that summer is near. So you also, when you see all these things, know that it is near—at the doors! Assuredly, I say to you, this generation will by no means pass away till all these things take place.” (Matthew 24:32-34)

What does that mean? Well if you read the Bible it is very clear throughout the old and New Testament that Israel has always been known as “the fig tree”. So when the fig tree starts showing leaves (arises again as a nation) then Christ’s return is at the door. We also see a prophesy of the same event in Isaiah 35:1 where the desert blossoms as a rose. (Today Israel which was once just dry desert is blossoming! So much so they are one of the largest producers of fruit.)

Understand that Israel was not a nation for thousands of years and on May 14, 1948 Israel became a nation once again. In fact, there is a huge exodus from around the world as millions of Jews are returning to Israel (another prophecy fulfilled by the way, Deuteronomy 30:3-4, Isaiah 11:11-12, Amos 9:14-15)

So all the Bible prophesies, yet unfulfilled, that Jesus spoke of will be fulfilled in our generation. Here we are in 2014. So it has been 60+ years already since this HUGE sign pointing us and showing us that the time has come and we are already in the last days! In fact, we are like near the end of the last days and what do we see happening?

Bible Prophecies are being fulfilled almost monthly now. Daniels vision of seventy weeks is being setup for the last week. Economic world collapse, forming of a world wide economy (the new world order – NWO), famines, sea and waves roaring, large Earthquakes in diverse places, the Islamic goals for a Caliphate, ISIS in Iraq and their goal for the world, the Countries forming against Israel to wipe them off the planet – the same nations the Bible says would be doing so in the Last Days. (Psalm 83), nation rising against nation and kingdom against kingdom (Islam verses Christianity and the Jewish faiths, East against West), the rise of Christian persecution by Muslim extremists, the falling away of the true Biblical Gospel of Jesus Christ in western nations… it is all here in front of our eyes. It seems everyday more of what the Bible says is going to happen in the Last Days is already started and in full swing to be 100% fulfilled.

Jesus Is Returning Soon

The Rapture event can occur at any moment now. Do not delay, accept Christ into your life. Ask Him for forgiveness before it is too late. He is waiting for you to return to Him. Come as you are.

Are You Ready For The Return Of Christ?

>>> Take The Test.