THE EXPECTATION THE GIFT OF CHRISTMAS GIVES! “I am the Lord’s servant,” Mary answered. “May your word to me be fulfilled.” Then the angel left her. —Luke 1:38 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit” —John 19:30 The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne, saying, “It is done!” Revelation 16:17             Merry Christmas this December 25th of 2024! Two thousand years ago Gabriel announced to Mary that she would give birth to the Messiah, Jesus.  He being the One who…

THE GIFT THAT SAVES US FROM THE WRATH OF GOD! At that time I will search Jerusalem with lamps, and I will punish the men who are complacent, those who say in their hearts, ‘The LORD will not do good, nor will he do ill.’ —Zephaniah 1:12 Then I saw another sign in heaven, great and amazing, seven angels with seven plagues, which are the last, for with them the wrath of God is finished —Revelation 15:1             Our Lord is not some wishy-washy God, some permissive grandfatherly Santa Claus that cares neither for good or ill.  No indeed!  Sin has ruined His creation and caused people to be in…

Also it causes all, both small and great, both rich and poor, both free and slave, to be marked on the right hand or the forehead, so that no one can buy or sell unless he has the mark, that is, the name of the beast or the number of its name. This calls for wisdom: let the one who has understanding calculate the number of the beast, for it is the number of a man, and his number is 666. —Revelation 13:16-18             There is coming a time when people will be forced out of the world-wide economic system unless they have “the name of the beast or the…

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            …