"So many people ... so many needs ..."

People need the Lord!!!  And oftentimes, they need you and me!  All around us there are people with needs.  If you have a family, there are days, weeks, months when those in your immediate family and extended family keep you busy praying and trying to help in any way you can.  If you are part of a church family, the number of people with health needs, and a variety of other needs is almost endless ... and often many of the needs remain unspoken, so we pray for God's protection and guidance for our brothers and sisters in Christ as they navigate the waters of life.  And then there are the countless number of people we know in our communities and in other places around the world whose needs are at times hidden and at other times urgently on display.  In a moment when you or I may become overwhelmed by all the needs around us, someone may say, "I don't know how God does it!"  Which, of course, is a silly statement.  He IS God, after all!!

I have been "thoughtful" over the past week or so ... reflecting on the many people around me and the truth of my/our inability to meet even most, let alone all of those needs.  As someone said to me just today, "Men like to 'fix' things."  It's true, most of us do; and sometimes we can even make things worse by trying too hard to fix something that is beyond our ability to do.  After all, we are NOT God.  To be fair, women like to fix things, too.  At times we just go about it in different ways.  Sometimes people just need a listening ear and the knowledge that someone cares; that they are not alone in their struggle.  But even then, what people really need is HOPE!  Everybody needs hope.  You cannot live long without hope.

Most people, however, live without true hope.  Actually, most people fake it.  They pretend.  People "hope" they will avoid the worst of the many BAD things that can happen in any given moment, and when faced with real trials, sufferings and struggles of various kinds, they "hope" things will get better.  Despair sets in when people LOSE hope ... when they think things can't or won't get better.  That's where God comes in.  That's where faith in God comes in.  That's where faith in the one TRUE God comes in.

Sadly, many people (actually, MOST people), do not KNOW the one true God.  But for those who do, the words of the prophet Isaiah are exactly what you and I need to hear, and what we need to share, in those moments when life and the needs all around us seem overwhelming.  Listen as God speaks to those who needed hope through the words of the prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 40.  Isaiah speaks of comfort for those who are God's people, who believe in Him, who know that He is the Creator of the heavens and the earth.  He points out the greatness of God that is beyond measure.  And then he asks a whole list of questions exalting the wisdom and power of God.  Read through Isaiah 40 until you get to verse 25, as God begins His conclusion with the following words:

"To whom then will you compare me, that I should be like him? says the Holy One.  Lift up your eyes on high and see:  who created these?  He who brings out their host by number, calling them all by name; by the greatness of His might and because He is strong in power; not one is missing. ...

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, 'My way is hidden from the LORD, and my right is disregarded by my God'?   Have you not known?  Have you not heard?  The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.  He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.  He gives power to the faint, and to Him who has no might He increases strength.  Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:25-31).

There is the hope every person needs, but most will never find, because they do NOT know the Holy One, the God of Israel, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the Creator of the heavens and the earth ... YOUR Creator and mine!  As one who by His grace and the work of His Spirit knows this God, my burden for people is lifted by knowing that everyone I talk with needs one thing:  Hope in the Lord!  And what they NEED to hear, whether they know it or not, is that this almighty God has made a way for sinners like you and me to draw near to Him, to be adopted into His family and to live this life without fear, no matter what the need, the trial, the struggle we or they may be facing.  JESUS, the Christ, God's promised Savior and King, is the way to the Father, and when by His mercy He calls you to believe in Him, to confess your sin and your need, and to trust in Jesus for forgiveness and life ... when by grace you are adopted into HIS "forever family," HOPE is born; a hope that stands firm in the midst of every trial, every need.

People need the Lord!  And they need you and me to tell them about the God they don't know, or to remind them of the Savior they have received.  This is the "fix" they need.  It's the hope you and I need ... every moment of every day.  And GOD is able.  HE can handle what you and I can't.  Be an instrument of healing and hope by pointing people to Jesus and through Him to our Father in heaven.  Trust His Spirit to do the rest, according to the Father's will.  Sleep well ... Jesus is on the throne and the angels are still singing!!

"Have you thought of JESUS today?"

It's Monday.  Have you thought of JESUS today?  For Christians, for those who know the one true God, Father, Son and Spirit, it is easy to think of Jesus on Sunday.  Gathering with God's people in worship must, or at least should, bring us face-to-face with the reality of our need for forgiveness and life that come only through faith in Jesus, the Christ, our Savior and Lord.  Then Monday comes ... and for many the Bible is left lying there, closed, as minds are set on a thousand other things.  So the question, "Have you thought of JESUS today?"

I began a new series of messages yesterday entitled, "I AM," intending to hear Jesus' words in the Gospel of John as He says, "I am the Bread of Life," "I am the Light of the World," "I am the Gate for the Sheep," "I am the Resurrection and the Life," "I am the Way and the Truth and the Life," "I am the True Vine," "I am the KING!"  Yesterday we looked at Jesus' words in John 6:35:  "I am the Bread of Life.  Whoever comes to me shall never hunger, and whoever believes in me shall never thirst."

Jesus called the people to "eat His flesh and drink His blood," then explaining that the words He was speaking were "spirit and life" (vs. 63).  Jesus, God in the flesh, was calling people to come to Him by faith, believing that He was/is the Messiah, the Christ, God's "Anointed One," and to believe in His sacrifice on the cross as the "atonement," the payment for their sin.  After His resurrection He told the disciples to take the Gospel to the world, calling people to "repent," to turn from sin, and to receive forgiveness through His blood.  Biblical "faith" means accepting the testimony of God's Word that Jesus IS who the Bible says He is and that all who believe in Him will be saved from God's judgment against our sin.

The heart of the message is that you will find satisfaction for your soul ONLY in Jesus, when your heart and your mind is set on HIM.  Is it any wonder that so many are living like the old song from "The Rolling Stones," as the words so appropriately said, "I can't get no ... satisfaction!"  They lament, "And I try, and I try, and I try and I try!!"  I stated yesterday, "Do not be surprised if you feel malnourished and dehydrated if you are not eating and drinking Jesus through reading, studying and meditating on the truth of WHO He is and WHAT He has done, is doing and will do for those whom the Father has given Him."

Spiritual hunger and thirst is a choice that billions make every day.  It is a choice many even in the visible church make every day.  If you choose not to "feed" regularly on the one book in the world that will point you to Jesus Christ then your soul will never be satisfied.  As I pointed out in the message, "Food, alcohol, sex, drugs, entertainment, adventure ... and more ... all scream out, 'THIS will satisfy!' ... but in the end, nothing does!  Commercials on TV, advertisements on your phone and in stores and everywhere else promise to deliver, but fall short.  Government tells you they will help you find it by giving you money and other 'things,' but their resources are woefully inadequate to give you spiritual satisfaction."

Jesus says, "I am the Bread of life!  Whoever comes to ME (by faith) shall never hunger, and whoever believes in ME shall never thirst."  You need to "eat and drink" the truth about Jesus that is found in the Gospel as it is revealed and explained in the Bible, GOD's Word.  The emptiness inside, that so many express in a variety of ways, cannot and will not be filled by anything or anyone else.  Only Jesus can satisfy your soul, for only He can bring you to the Father for forgiveness and new life by His Spirit.  Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him.  And I will raise him up on the last day" (John 6:44).

Our Father in heaven uses His Word and sends His Spirit to bring new life to those whom He gives to His Son to be part of His Bride.  These will receive Jesus as Savior and Lord today, and in the near future will receive Him as King when He returns in all His glory!  Just as you feed your body every day of the week, you need to feed your spirit.  Do not leave your Bible lying unopened during the week.  If you live around Allendale, Michigan, come and join us at Lighthouse Community Church on Sunday mornings, or listen online at lighthouse-ministries.org at about 11:00 a.m.  If you don't live near Allendale, seek out a church body where the truth of God's Word is believed and taught, where you can share fellowship with other brothers and sisters in Christ.  Then take God's Word during the week and read it, pray, worship, trust and obey out of an abundance of thanksgiving for God's mercy and grace to you in Jesus. KNOW that He is with you and live as a light in the darkness (next week's message!).

Have you thought of Jesus today?  If you have read this, now you have.  Don't stop.  Begin every day by setting your mind on Him and live to serve Him with gladness in your heart.  In the "good times," rejoice and give Him thanks.  In the "hard times" trust Him and seek His wisdom and strength, knowing that you are not alone.  Jesus truly IS the food and drink you need not only to survive, but to live with hope, peace and joy in your heart.  THINK about JESUS!!  You will be glad you did!!

"Politics without JESUS isn't pretty!"

What we are currently witnessing in our nation is politics without Jesus!!  It could be said that this has been true since the founding of our nation, or any other nation for that matter.  There has never been a nation where the ruler and all those who governed with him were true followers of Jesus Christ.  Even the nation of Israel, in the centuries before Jesus came, had ungodly, fallible, sinful rulers who ruled over them.  The time when David and Solomon were kings of Israel was the closest mankind has ever come to being ruled by the principles of godly government laid out for us in the Bible, God's Word.  But even then, they were far, far from perfect, and the consequences of their sin was obvious.

In that sense, we should never expect perfection from anyone who is in a position of government.  Human government, though ordained by God to restrain evil, does not have the power to eliminate it.  The only power able to restrain sin is the Spirit of God and the Law of God.  People say we must separate "religion and politics."  Those in the United Nations actually blame "religion" for most of the wars that have been fought throughout history.  This is why there is a big push toward the "unity" of all religions."  Such a "counterfeit unity," they believe, might allow people to live together in peace.

What they don't understand is human nature, though the picture is right in front of them.  Paul explains human nature in Romans 3:10-18:

"None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God.  All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.  Their throat is an open grave; they use their tongues to deceive.  The venom of asps is under their lips.  Their mouth is full of curses and bitterness.  Their feet are swift to shed blood; in their paths are ruin and misery, and the way of peace they have not known.  There is no fear of God before their eyes."

Do you want to know what is wrong with the political systems of mankind?  Look no further.  As someone has said, "the enemy is US!"  Mankind, men and women, cannot govern ourselves apart from the gracious work of the Spirit of God, our Creator.  It is only when God graciously makes His chosen ones "new creations" in Christ, giving us a new heart, a new mind and a new will, that we are able and willing to confess Jesus Christ as Lord and live under HIS authority, desiring to be obedient to HIS perfect and righteous Law.  Separate THIS religion, the only true religion, from politics and you have  ... what we see in front of us.

I write in " ... the end.", "Your life and mine only have meaning when we acknowledge that life is all about God.  He created us for Himself, and for those who have been given new life in Christ, He RE-created us for Himself.  The idea that you are a free agent and that you can do whatever you want, say whatever you want, live however you want and all will be well, is the result of ignorance, of not knowing the one true God.  He will vindicate Himself when Jesus returns to reign over the world.  If the history of mankind on the earth does not end with Jesus on the throne in Jerusalem, ruling over the nations of the earth, then God's Word is not true and there is no hope beyond the grave and no hope for us today as we live in a world that is increasingly hostile to the God who reveals Himself in His Word, the Bible.

If these things are not true, as the Bible reveals them, then anything goes ... then there is no such thing as a holy, just and righteous God, no such thing as sin or judgment.  There is just nothing!  You live, you die, and then ... nothing!  But because these things ARE true, we have something to talk about that matters to every person who is given 'ears to hear' by God Himself through the work of His Spirit.  And it all centers around this truth:  Those who are united to Jesus Christ by faith live with hope and a deep sense of purpose as we await His glorious return."

It should be quite obvious that your hope does not rest in government. To the extent we are able, we must seek to influence those in political office toward the Law of God and the Lordship of Jesus Christ.  Politics without JESUS isn't pretty!  No human government can sustain itself.  History proves that over and over.  Greater governments than ours have fallen from corruption within.  For years we have had a multitude of groups "lobby" our government officials and even bribe our government officials to do what THEY want them to do.  Today we have take another step as groups like Black Lives Matter, Antifa and white supremacy groups, LGBT+ and others try to take matters into their own hands, rejecting virtually any form of government except their own.  Human nature is sinful and requires government, but a government based on anything other than biblical principles will eventually become so corrupt that it falls from within.  There is nothing to hold it up.  Evil rises to the top.

Where is our current mess heading?  Judgment!!  Unless God, the one true God, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God who reveals Himself in His Word ... unless He determines to show mercy to a nation so undeserving.  I will be surprised if that happens, but God's plan will unfold as He determines. In the meantime, I will hope in the Lord, my God, and I will take comfort in the fact that my Lord Jesus Christ will return as King one day soon.  Until then, I will proclaim the good news of forgiveness and life through faith in Him.  I pray that you will join me!!

"A 'Global Reset' without GOD!"

By now you may or may not have heard about the "Global Reset" that is underway.  Perhaps you heard something about it and thought it was one of those "conspiracy theories" and chose to ignore it.  I would encourage you to look it up and see what those in positions of power are planning for the human race and for the planet.  Having been "hidden" for some time, the current pandemic has become the catalyst for the nations of the world to come together through organizations like the World Economic Forum to "unite the world" in facing what they consider to be the main threats to the existence of mankind on this planet and "working together" to solve them.  Sounds good, doesn't it?

All of this is real.  It is happening.  In addition to the World Economic Forum, you can look up the Davos Agenda 2021.  Those with money and power, some in plain sight, some behind the scenes, are seeking to control the governments of the world and to bring them together through a common NEED:  health and safety.  When mixed with words like "equity" and "climate protection" and "social justice" and "gender equality" and other nice-sounding words and slogans, people are deceived into believing that the "agenda" is for the welfare of mankind.  Suddenly government control doesn't sound so bad ... until it becomes personal and you suddenly realize the freedom we once enjoyed has been taken away.

Are you depressed yet?  Take heart!  "OUR GOD REIGNS!!"  The agenda being enacted as we speak includes every part of human life, from economics to education, from social norms to social justice, from science to religion ... everything must be "reset" in order to eliminate Christianity!!  If that sounds paranoid, you have not yet understood that just as Satan worked for 2,000 years to eliminate the Jewish people before the Messiah, the Christ, could be born ... the one who would CRUSH HIS HEAD ... so Satan is at work not only to eliminate the Jewish people yet today, but also to eliminate those who know the Jewish Messiah, the fulfillment of God's promises, His Anointed King, JESUS, the eternal Son of God!

If you look up the agenda of these people it is exclusively secular.  "God" and "religion" have no place in their plans ... EXCEPT when needed to persuade "people of faith" that this is what "God" wants:  for everyone to work together for the good of mankind.  In their ignorance and spiritual blindness, they do not know that it is God's intention to use even their evil plans to accomplish His purpose to gather His chosen ones to Himself and then to pour out His wrath and judgment on the rest of mankind before establishing the reign of Jesus Christ in Jerusalem for a thousand years.

Examining God's Word to see the signs of Christ's soon return, many think we cannot know when Jesus will return.  But Jesus rebuked the people in His day for not discerning the signs of the times.  How much more should we be aware of what is happening in the world around us and how these events point to Jesus' return??  People often quote the phrase that says Jesus will come "like a thief in the night."  Listen to what Paul writes in I Thessalonians 5:3-4:

"While people are saying, 'There is peace and security,' then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman and they will not escape.  BUT YOU (believers) ARE NOT IN DARKNESS, brothers, for that day to surprise YOU like a thief.'"

The wise will understand what is coming on the world and will stand firm in their faith in Jesus Christ.  While the leaders of the world plan their "great reset," God is planning His own great reset!!!  But first, there will be a great apostasy, a great falling away of many who claim to believe in "a God," but do not know who He is and who do not trust in Jesus Christ alone for forgiveness and eternal life.  Many of these claim to be "Christians," but have no problem uniting with other religions in believing in a "generic god" who is impotent to intervene in the actions and plans of those who do not worship him/her/it.  This "generic god" does not exist, except in the imagination of people who are living without hope and without God (the one TRUE God, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob) in the world.

We who by God's grace know the one true God, and who trust in His Son Jesus Christ for salvation from the coming wrath of God, must live in the power of His Spirit to proclaim the truth, so long as He gives us breath!  There are yet some who need to hear the good news of the true Gospel of Jesus Christ in order to be delivered from sin and death.  The Gospel is still the power of God for salvation for all who believe.  We must point out the work of Satan in the world today, but we must not be overcome by evil.  Instead, we must seek to build up the one true Body of Christ by speaking the truth in love, teaching, correcting, reproving and training those who believe in righteousness.  Jesus said, "I WILL build MY Church, and the gates of death (the gates of hades), will not stand against it!"

Jesus presents a picture of a Church that does not waver, that is not blown about by false teaching, and we must be that Church!!  Every true believer ... those who believe the Bible to be the very Word of God, who confess Jesus Christ as God in the flesh, who died on the cross to pay the penalty for the sins of all who would believe, who rose again, ascended into heaven and who is coming again in power and glory ... every true believer must and will stand firm in our faith in Jesus Christ by the power of our risen Lord within us.  Be aware of what is going on, and then dig deep, trusting in the Lord your God, knowing that "if God is for us, who can be against us?" (Romans 8:31).

Do not allow fear and anxiety to overwhelm you!  He is with His true children and He will never leave or forsake us.  Jesus Christ is Lord!!

"CHURCH!! Are you ready???"

The "church" is not what most people think "it" is.  The true CHURCH is not a building or an organization.  The CHURCH is a living Body, the "ekklesia," literally, "the called-out assembly."  When Jesus said He came to build His "church," this was the word He used, and the Bible, God's Word, tells us that God knows those who are His because He chose us in Christ before the foundations of the world were laid (Ephesians 1:4).  All that Jesus came to do through His death on the cross was and is for this Body, and all He is coming to do when He returns is to gather this Body, some from every people, tribe, nation and tongue, to Himself, in what the Bible calls the "Rapture."

As I have said previously, someone commented recently that there will be no Rapture, that the word does not even appear in the Bible.  But it comes from the Latin translation of "caught up" or "gather up,"  as this event is described in I Thessalonians 4:13-18 and elsewhere.  There WILL be a Rapture and those who have died previously as believers in Christ Jesus will have their bodies raised from the grave and reunited with their spirits at the sound of the trumpet call, while those who are still alive will be transformed "in the twinkling of an eye" and all will meet the Lord Jesus together in the air.  MUCH more could be said about that event, but my purpose today is to talk about the TIMING of the Rapture and the importance of knowing the order of the events leading up to it and what comes after it.

I and others believe the Bible teaches the timing of the Rapture to be AFTER the "Great Tribulation,"  and that the Rapture will be followed by the "Day of the Lord," God's wrath and judgment upon those who remain on the earth.  Why is this important?  I have shared before that many in the visible church today who claim to know God, to believe in Jesus and even to be filled with His Spirit seem to "lose their faith" in the face of suffering and trials.  They question God or they question their own faith or they question what they have been taught.  Something must be wrong!!  

What is wrong is their "theology," or their lack thereof!!  They don't know the sovereign God who works ALL things together for the good of His people, of those who love Him because we know He first loved us.  If your theology is right, you understand that God is wiser than you are and that He is with you in the hard times just as He is with you in the good times.  You understand that His ways are above your ways and that faith means trusting Him when you don't understand what He is doing.  Bad theology leaves people vulnerable to doubts, worry, anxiety and fear.

The same is true when it comes to "end times."  If you believe the true Church will be "raptured" BEFORE the Great Tribulation, and you see the temple being rebuilt in Jerusalem and a man rising to power and the nations coming against the Jewish people and you keep expecting the Rapture to take place and it doesn't, what will happen to your "faith"??  God SAID that His people are not appointed to suffer His wrath, and if the entire final seven years is His wrath, believers should have been protected and taken from this world before the Antichrist comes and certainly before the Great Tribulation occurs.

So I ask in my book, " ... the end.", ... "What if much of the visible church is planning to be 'raptured,' only to be called upon by God to endure the Great Tribulation??"   Some have quoted Revelation 3:10, "Because you have kept my word about patient endurance, I will keep you from the hour of trial that is coming on the whole world, to try those who dwell on earth," and taught that God is promising to deliver His people BEFORE the Great Tribulation.  But is that the case?

I write, "God has 'kept' the Church through persecution and trials since its beginning!  He 'kept' Noah and his family during the time of the flood.  He 'kept' Israel through the plagues in Egypt.  The question we need to answer on the basis of God's Word alone and not on our own ideas or theories is this:  Is the entire seven years, Daniel's 70th week, the Great Tribulation AND the Day of the Lord?  Are they one and the same thing?  OR, does God make a distinction between the two?"

If you would like to read much more about this you may order my book by emailing me:  pastorsteve@lighthouse-ministries.org.  I urge you to pray for understanding, not only of "end times," as we draw nearer to these events every day, but also an understanding of God's call to suffering for His people.  There IS a purpose in trials and suffering and God is able to strengthen us who believe for whatever He calls us to bear.  Faithful endurance is part of our calling, so stand firm in your faith in Jesus Christ whatever you may be called to bear, whether today, tomorrow or at any point in the future.  Our Father in heaven is with us.  Our Savior Jesus Christ is Lord and is reigning over all things from His heavenly throne.  And His Spirit dwells within us, empowering us for the battles at hand.

Do not allow the circumstances of your life or in the world to turn your attention away from Jesus, for IN THE END ... WE WIN!!!  We WILL endure, "by the blood of the Lamb and the word of our testimony!"  ARE YOU READY???