As Jesus calls His followers to deny themselves and take up their cross (Matthew 16:24), we must recognize that difficulties will intensify as His return approaches. The closer we come to the return of Christ, the greater the spiritual resistance and challenges we will face. Yet, these trials are an opportunity to grow in faith, prepare for His coming, and remain steadfast in our hope of eternal life with Him.
In Matthew 13:44-52, Jesus shares several parables to illustrate the value of the kingdom of heaven. These teachings provide profound insights into why heaven should be a Christian's ultimate treasure.
As believers in Christ, we are called to be watchful and discerning, especially in the last days. The Bible provides several reasons why Christians keep a vigilant eye on signs and events that indicate the approaching return of Jesus Christ.
Our world is upside down. Socializing anywhere but online is now frowned upon and in several places around the world, it is against local "laws" (I use the term loosely, as these are better described as dictates by local government officials) due to the Coronavirus. We are fast closing in on the first year of "two weeks to slow the spread". These mandates have radically changed our lives. We can have an offline discussion about whether or not the mandates are effective - I'm not going to try to make that case here, I have more important items to cover.
During the current pandemic and all of the local mandates and guidelines of staying home, social distancing, or wearing a mask - we had an election that included on the ballot the race for President of the United States. You may feel that the race was run fairly, or you may feel that the race was wrought with fraud.
Coronavirus, wildfires, flooding, hurricanes, earthquakes, racial tensions, political hatred and the year 2020. These are all things that we tire of hearing about - we want them to be over with, to "get back to normal".