Will you be taken?

Are you watching, are you waiting, are you ready, are you anticipating Jesus coming for you? Are you the Bride of Christ, are you the friend of Christ, are you the servant of Christ or are you all three? He could come at anytime and take His own out of this world and possibly sooner than you might think, the question to ask yourself is: Will you be taken or will you be left? The answer to that question is according to whether or not you are the Bride, the Friend, the Servant or all three. The following verse is what will happen to those who belong to Christ. It will be a glorious day for them!

1 Thessalonians 4:16-18 (KJV) (16) 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: (17) 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. (18) Wherefore comfort one another with these words.

For those who do not belong to Christ listen to these words:

1 Thessalonians 5:3 (Amp.) When people are saying, All is well and secure, and, There is peace and safety, then in a moment unforeseen destruction (ruin and death) will come upon them as suddenly as labor pains come upon a woman with child; and they shall by no means escape, for there will be no escape.

Now hear again the words that are written to those who belong to Christ:

1 Thessalonians 5:4-11 (Amp.) (4) But you are not in [given up to the power of] darkness, brethern, for that day to overtake you by surprise like a thief. (5) For you are all sons of light and sons of the day; we do not belong either to the night or darkness. (6) Accordingly then, let us not sleep, as the rest do, but let us keep wide awake (alert, watchful, cautious, and on our guard) and let us be sober (calm, collected, and circumspect). (7) For those who sleep, sleep at night, and those who are drunk, get drunk at night. (8) But we belong to the day; therefore, let us be sober and put on the breastplate (corslet) of faith and love and for a helmet the hope of salvation. (9) For God has not appointed us to [incur His) wrath [ He did not select us to condemn us], but [that we might] obtain [His] salvation through our Lord Jesus Christ (the Messiah) (10) Who died for us so that whether we are still alive or are dead [at Christ's appearing], we might live together with Him and share His life. (11) Therefore encourage (admonish, exhort) one another and edify (strengthen and build up) one another, just as you are doing.

Are you His? If not do you desire to be His? If so this is what it takes so that you will be taken and not left.

First you must confess that you are a sinner and are in need of a Savior and repent and turn away from your sins.. 1Jn. 1:8-9 (Paraphrased) (8) For if you say that you have no sin [refusing to admit that you are a sinner], you are deluding yourself and leading yourself astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in you and does not dwell in your heart. (9) But if you freely admit that you have sinned and confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive your sins and will cleanse you from all unrighteousness. Next: Romans 10:9-13 ( paraphrased) (9) you must acknowledge and confess with your lips that Jesus is Lord and in your heart believe and rely on the truth that God raised Him from the dead, then you will be saved. (10) For with your heart you believe, trust and rely on Christ and thus you are justified and made acceptable unto God and with your mouth you confess and speak out freely your faith and this confirms your salvation (11) and no one who trusts in Christ Jesus will ever be put to shame or disappointed (12) for there is no distinction between jew or gentile the same Lord is Lord over all and He generously bestows His riches upon all who call upon Him in faith. (13) For everyone who calls upon the name the Lord Jesus Christ [invoking Him as Lord] will be saved.

True salvation will bring true change and a heart after God and His righteousness, which only comes through the power of the Holy Spirit which now lives within the one who has truly been saved. The Spirit of Jesus which now lives inside of you will draw you to Himself, but the Bride will have a longing desire to know Him more intimately (on a personal level which is greater than just a servant or friend). Just as a Bride and Groom they will long to commune and spend time with one another as they get to know each other more intimately. Until next time I leave you with this:

To love Him is to know Him and to know Him is to love Him! And the Bride's heart longs to be with Christ Jesus and will watch and wait for Him to come for them. The Bride is always prepared and the true friend and servant of the Lord will also anticipate His coming at any moment!

The law of faith -v- The law of works

"But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out]." (Hebrews 11:6, AMP)

Not only do I believe God exists but "I believe Him" I believe His Word, His promises, I believe that there is nothing impossible for God. I would dare not to ever limit Him. He can make a way when there seems to be no way. He can turn any situation around and do great and mighty things. And when it seems impossible at every turn God can still make a way. He is a great and awesome God! And when He says He is a rewarder I believe Him.

Faith is what pleases Him and earnestly and diligently seeking Him brings rewards from Him. He is indeed a rewarder! But sometimes we can get so caught up into thinking about all the things we must do to get God's blessings/rewards that we forget that His blessings come from our believing in Him and believing Him. Most everyone believes in Him but what I am saying is Believe Him with all your heart, there is a huge difference between the two. Why not rest a little from all your worries, fretting and constant questioning of yourself and circumstances: "Am I doing something wrong, did I do that right? I must do my morning devotional, I must say this prayer this way. Did I walk the straight path today? Is God pleased with me? Did I obey everything in the scripture's today? This is not faith in God but faith in yourself, so stop... and place your faith in God. This is not walking by faith but by works.

As long as we live in this flesh we will never be perfect within and of ourselves. Yes.. I hear you saying but faith without works is dead. Here's a question to think about, "Are you working as to establish your faith, or are you living by faith which will in turn establish good works? Are you loving and doing well because your heart is full of faith and belief in God and believing God? There is a law of works and there is a law of faith. The law of faith will establish the law of works but the law of works will never establish the law of faith (Rom. 3:27,31).

God's grace is unmerited favor so you can't earn it. He just gives it because of His love for you. Take a good hard look at your heart and do some examining of it and ask yourself, do I believe and obey out of obligation in hopes of God's blessings and rewards or do I believe and obey out of a heart that is full of love and belief in Jesus my Lord and Savior? Do you have a heart to do right because it might get you some brownie points or do you do well because you just Love Jesus and you want Him to shine through you? May we examine ourselves and ask "Am I living by faith which will establish good works or am I living by works in hopes of establishing my faith?"

What it basically comes down to is to know that you are truly loved so very much by your Father God, and that there is nothing you can do to earn His love. Even if you don't believe in Jesus (God's only begotten Son), and you don't believe that He sent His Son to die for the sins of the world, He still loves you and desires to be with you, but it is only by Faith in His Son Christ Jesus that that can be possible. Faith is what pleases Him and that is all.. If you truly have faith in Him (believing in Him and believing Him) then all else will follow.

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

God Loves you and He desires to be with you now and for all eternity, so rest and surrender in faith in Him and He will take care of the rest for you "For we are God's [own] handiwork (His workmanship), recreated in Christ Jesus unto good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us [taking paths which He prepared ahead of time], that we should walk in them [ living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live]. ( Eph. 2: 10 AMP)