JUDGMENT TO COME! The first angel blew his trumpet, and there followed hail and fire, mixed with blood, and these were thrown upon the earth. And a third of the earth was burned up, and a third of the trees were burned up, and all green grass was burned up. —Revelation 8:7 Then I looked, and I heard an eagle crying with a loud voice as it flew directly overhead, “Woe, woe, woe to those who dwell on the earth, at the blasts of the other trumpets that the three angels are about to blow!” —Revelation 8:13             The day of the Lord is going to bring great judgment on…

 THE TRANSFORMING OF ORDINARY, EVERYDAY PEOPLE Then Amos answered and said to Amaziah, “I was no prophet, nor a prophet’s son, but I was a herdsman and a dresser of sycamore figs.” —Amos 7:14 “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” —Revelation 7:12 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes. —Revelation 7:17             Amos was an ordinary, everyday man.  God called Him to be a prophet when he “was…

THE KING IS COMING AND HE KNOWS YOU! For behold, he who forms the mountains and creates the wind, and declares to man what is his thought, who makes the morning darkness, and treads on the heights of the earth— the LORD, the God of hosts, is his name! —Amos 4:13 When he opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled…

SING PRAISE! “Do two walk together, unless they have agreed to meet? Does a lion roar in the forest, when he has no prey? Does a young lion cry out from his den, if he has taken nothing? Does a bird fall in a snare on the earth, when there is no trap for it? Does a snare spring up from the ground, when it has taken nothing? Is a trumpet blown in a city, and the people are not afraid? Does disaster come to a city, unless the LORD has done it?  “For the Lord GOD does nothing without revealing his secret to his servants the prophets.  The lion has roared; who…

THE DAY OF THE LORD WILL COME— BE READY! And I will show wonders in the heavens and on the earth, blood and fire and columns of smoke. The sun shall be turned to darkness, and the moon to blood, before the great and awesome day of the LORD comes. And it shall come to pass that everyone who calls on the name of the LORD shall be saved. —Joel 2:30-32 I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke.  The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious…

CLOTHED IN HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS! — II Corinthians 5:21 The one who conquers will be clothed thus in white garments, and I will never blot his name out of the book of life. I will confess his name before my Father and before his angels. —Revelation 3:5             For we who have called on Jesus and are following Him as His disciples, “in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us…

BE MOTIVATED BY LOVING RELATIONSHIP I know your works, your toil and your patient endurance, and how you cannot bear with those who are evil, but have tested those who call themselves apostles and are not, and found them to be false. I know you are enduring patiently and bearing up for my name’s sake, and you have not grown weary. But I have this against you, that you have abandoned the love you had at first. Remember therefore from where you have fallen; repent, and do the works you did at first. If not, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place, unless you repent. —Revelation 2:2-5            …

KNOWING GOD For I desire steadfast love and not sacrifice, the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings. —Hosea 6:6             Jesus said that the greatest command was to ‘“Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’  This is the first and greatest commandment” (Matthew 22:37).  Yes, God desires a steadfast loving relationship with Him.  Knowing God, being in relationship with Him, is the highest priority that can be known.  Works are secondary.  They are a result of a relationship with Him— “For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance…

NO GREATER JOY! I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. —III John 1:4             What a joy to have my own biological children walking in the truth— Jeremy, Becca, Hannah and we are praying that Ben will soon walk in the truth as well (would you pray for Ben right now?).  Above all things, this is what is most important.  Yes, to know they are walking in the truth and are headed for eternity with Jesus is what is most important and then for their children and then their children after them, prayerfully right down to the end of the age. …

ABIDE IN THE GREAT LOVE AND MERCY OF GOD! For we do not present our pleas before you because of our righteousness, but because of your great mercy. —Daniel 9:18 And he said, “O man greatly loved, fear not, peace be with you; be strong and of good courage.” —Daniel 10:19 Everyone who goes on ahead and does not abide in the teaching of Christ, does not have God. Whoever abides in the teaching has both the Father and the Son. —II John 1:9             First, fellow followers of Jesus, know that you are greatly loved.  How do we know that we are greatly loved?  “In this the love of…