Prayer: LORD, I pray that You will give (name) the spirit of wisdom and revelation so that she/he may know You better. That the eyes of (name)'s heart may be enlightened in order that she/he may know the hope to which you have called. The hope which is the riches of Your glorious inheritance in Your saints, and Your incomparably great power for us who believe. Your power is the working of Your mighty strength, which You exerted in Christ when You raised Him from the dead and seated Him at Your right hand in the heavenly realms, far above all rule and authority,power, and dominion and every title that can be given, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. Resurrect in Your child all that has given up and died, and move (him/her) to Your son Jesus. Whom You have placed all things under His feet and appointed Him to be head over everything for His church: His believers and His body, the fullness of Him who fills everything in every way. I pray that Your spirit is leading (name) to submit everything to Jesus. (Name) was dead when he/she followed the ways of this world and allowed the spirit who is at work in the disobedient to lead him/her. But because of Your great love for (name), You-who is rich in mercy, made him/her alive with Christ even when she/he was dead in transgression. It is by grace that (name) is saved. It is a gift from You and not by any works of our own, so that we cannot boast. (Name) is Your workmanship created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which You prepared in advance for him/her to do. I pray that (name) hears Your every call and reaches his/her full potential in You (Ephesians 1:15-2:10) throughout a long prosperous life. In the mighty name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen.
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Matthew 24
Signs of the End of the Age - part 2 v. 1-14
(Emphasis on verses 3-12)
As Jesus was sitting on the Mount of Olives, the disciples came to him privately. "Tell us," they said, "when will this happen, and what will be the sign of your coming and of the end of the age?"
Jesus answered: "Watch out that no one deceives you. For many will come in my name, claiming, 'I am the Christ," and will deceive many. You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come. Nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom. There will be famines and earthquakes in various places. All these are the beginning of birth pains. Then you will be handed over to be persecuted and put to death, and you will be hated by all nations because of me. At that time many will turn away from the faith and will betray and hate each other, and many false prophets will appear and deceive many people. Because of the increase of wickedness, the love of most will grow cold... "
The disciples asked Jesus for the sign of His coming and of the end of age. Jesus' first response was "Watch out that no one deceives you." I will stress again, how important it is that you remain in the Word of God- the Bible. It's important to pray and seek understanding and great discernment and mature in leaning on the Holy Spirit. And stop looking for signs to drop out of thin air. Whenever we look for signs, we become very susceptible to being deceived. You become a clear target for the "false prophets" around with counterfeit signs of spiritual power and authority. They figure out exactly what you want to hear to believe them and turn you away from God. They will even use God, and this is why you need to know the God you serve.
The Old Testament frequently mentions false prophets. False prophets claimed to receive messages from God, but they preached a "health and wealth" message. They said what the people wanted to hear, even when the nation was not following God as it should. True prophets were urging the people to turn back to God and get rid of false gods and idols. True prophets are urging you to confess your sins directly to God and repent. True prophets are urging you to have a personal relationship with Jesus.
There were false prophets in Jesus' day, and we have them today. They are the popular leaders who tell people what they want to hear, such as "God wants you to be rich," "Do whatever your desires tell you," "There is no such thing as sin or hell," "A God that is good or of love wouldn't allow punishment," "The Secret is what you need to live a good life," "God just wants you to be a good person," "People who believe in God are insane or crazy and it's be proven," or "The universe will take care of you." I have to comment on that last one. The universes does nothing for you, it is the real Almighty God that will take care of you when YOU allow Him to and sometimes because of His grace- when you don't call on Him .
Jesus said false teachers would come, and He warned His disciples, as He warns us, not to listen to their dangerous words. I would call out names but as you mature on your own spiritual walk, God will reveal exactly who they are- widely popular or not. You will begin to discern what you shouldn't be replacing God's Word with through the Holy Spirit that lives in you.
With false teaching and loose morals comes a particularly destructive disease-the loss of true love for God and others. Sin cools your love for God and others by turning your focus on yourself. You cannot truly love if you think only of yourself. The only way to keep from being deceived is to focus on Christ and His words. Don't look for special signs, and don't spend time looking at other people. Look at Christ.
PERSONALLY: I RATHER BE LABELED INSANE AND CRAZY FOR FOLLOWING A GOD I CAN'T SEE; THAN TO LIVE AND LEAVE THIS EARTH WITHOUT KNOWING HIM.
ARE YOU WILLING TO TAKE THAT GAMBLE?
Jesus said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation." Mark 16:15
Notes from Life Application Study Bible & NIV Women's Devotional Bible-Classic Edition.
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