Israel Has Been Attacked - Are We Nearing The End?

Scripture Reading: Matthew 24:1-14

Focus Verse: Matthew 24:14   “And the Good News about the Kingdom will be preached throughout the whole world, so that all nations will hear it, and then the end will come.”

Maybe you have seen in the news that a bloody war has been going on between Israel and Iran. Knowing that Iran's government wants Israel wiped out and Iran's leaders have been sending groups of attacks into Israel, Israel has been hitting targets inside of Iran and countless bombs and missiles have been going back and forth and there are reports of nuclear bomb building in Iran.  The USA has been helping Israel defend itself from incoming Iranian missiles.  Now,  it looks like the United States is weighing whether to be involved in this war in a bigger way.  

This is not Israel's first battle. Israel has been persecuted by many countries that surround it - Syria, Lebanon, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Iran, Hamas, Islamic Jihad, Hezbollah just to name a few.  Some Bible scholars said that the six-day Arab-Israeli war in 1967 was the beginning of the end of the world.  Whenever the bombs are launched at Israel people start asking “is the end near?”  And the answer can be “yes”.   Jesus could return at any time.  There is nothing else on the prophetic calendar that needs to happen for Christ to return. He could come at any moment and no one can know when.  Let us not be so focused on when Jesus is returning.  Are you ready?  In our focus verse Jesus said “the Good News of the Gospel will be preached throughout the whole world so that all nations will hear it.  And then the end will come.  So let us be busy telling the Good News of the Gospel to everyone that has never heard. Then the end will come.  

Jesus said in Matthew 28:18-20   "Jesus came and told his disciples, “I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.  Teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you. And be sure of this, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”   So, yes we are nearing the end of time, and have been getting closer ever since Jesus walked on the earth.  When we see these wars going on, and earthquakes happening it should remind us to endure with Christ and continue sharing the Good News of the Gospel.

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

World, Self or God?

Bible Reading: Romans 12

Focus verse: Romans 12:1-2 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.”

I can serve one master. What's your priority? Satan doesn't try to get you to worship him. He wants you to focus on self. Make yourself a priority and it makes Satan win. Or you could hyper fixate on all the things Satan is doing in your life or in the world's problems, meditate in the turmoil that he is causing which is -- a crafty way to worship the Devil.  

If you are caught in that trap, look up. Luke 21:28, "Now when these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." Look to the Lord Jesus Christ and be saved.

Isaiah 45:22-24 says "“Look to Me, and be saved,
All you ends of the earth!
For I am God, and there is no other.

I have sworn by Myself;
The word has gone out of My mouth in righteousness,
And shall not return,
That to Me every knee shall bow,
Every tongue shall take an oath.

He shall say, ‘Surely in the Lord I have righteousness and strength.
To Him men shall come,
And all shall be ashamed
Who are incensed against Him."

Surrender:
James 4:7, “Submit yourselves, then, to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.”

Luke 9:23, “Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me.”

WE must, as Christians, see ourselves rightly as God sees us, and see the world events through God's directions. He will give you rest.

~Page Johnson

Interlocking Ministries

Unanswered Prayers

Unanswered Prayers

Scripture Reading: John 11:1-44

Focus Verse: John 11:11  “Then He said, "Our friend Lazarus has fallen asleep, but now I will go and wake him up.”

Have you ever prayed a prayer, maybe even the same prayer for a long time?  And did it seem like God was not listening?  I can imagine this is how Mary and Martha must have felt.  They sent word to Jesus that Lazarus was sick, but Jesus did nothing to help Lazarus get well.  Then we read that Lazarus died from his illness.  Mary and Martha must have felt that Jesus had let them down.  Many times when hardships and difficulties happen to us we ask “where is God?  Why didn’t He do something?"  It looked like Jesus had forgotten about His friends, but really He was planning one of His greatest miracles.

Several things we should remember when we think our prayers are unanswered.  First, God’s timing is always perfect.  He’s never late, and He’s never early, He’s always right on time.  Secondly, Jesus identifies with us.  He knows how we feel.  Hebrews 4:15 says,  “Jesus faced all of the same testings we do, yet he did not sin.”  and Hebrews 12:2 says that he endured the cross, despising shame.  Jesus experienced sorrow and pain. And third, God is all powerful.  He is in control of everything in our lives.  2 Corinthians 12:9 This should give us great peace and comfort in our times of trouble.

You see Mary and Martha wanted Jesus to come to heal Lazarus, but Jesus wanted to do something much more spectacular.  Jesus waited in order to raise Lazarus from the dead, so in order to do that He had to let Lazarus die.  When Lazarus walked out of that tomb after being dead for four days, God received a lot of glory and praise!  Let’s remember that God answers prayer in three ways: yes, no, and wait.  And the wait answer is always followed by a yes or no.  So don’t be discouraged, there are really no unanswered prayers.  We just need to be patient, and see what God is up to.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

Built to Last

Built to Last 

Scripture Reading:  Ephesians 2:11-22

Focus Verse: Ephesians 2:21  The whole building, being fitted together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.

This Christian community of friends around us is built to last, because we will be with these people for all eternity.  Keep in mind we will have perfect bodies once we get to heaven.  Let's look at what Paul has to say about building a strong Christian community that will last.

There were some problems between the Gentiles and Jews described in verses 11-13.  But Paul wants to bring these groups together in a peaceful way.  Paul says in verse 14 that Christ has broken down the wall of separation between man and God.  This also breaks the wall of separation between all believers.  This is very important to understand because when Christians are divided it is a bad testimony to the outside community.

Christ himself is our peace through the cross.  As members of Christ's body we are fitted together like bricks of a building.  We are strong and growing when we are interlocked together.  When we are separated we make ourselves weak and vulnerable to attack from the enemy.

I like to think of it like a building.  A good caretaker will maintain a building.  He will see problems when they are small and make repairs before they get big.  This is how we can maintain a strong Christian community that is built to last.  Let us be strong together for Christ.  Let Christ Jesus be the mortar that brings us together to build the strong body of Christ.  You can't control the actions of others, but as far as yourself, you can control your reactions.  God bless you as you grow strong together.

Bobby Johnson
Interlocking Ministries

God's Cell Phone

Bible Reading: Matthew 6:5-18

Focus Verse: John 17:20-21(Jesus prayed) "I am praying not only for these disciples but also for all who will ever believe in me through their message.   I pray that they will all be one, just as you and I are one—as you are in me, Father, and I am in you. And may they be in us so that the world will believe you sent me."

     Do you ever talk to God? Do you really know what prayer is? Do you know there are some things that you must know in order for God to answer His cell phone?
God really doesn’t have a cell phone, but the Bible tells us a lot about prayer. 

     First of all, prayer has two parts. One is that we talk to God either by word of mouth or by our thoughts. The second is that God talks to us through reading the Bible.

    Who can pray? The answer is that everyone can pray. However there are limitations for some people. If some praying people are not children of God, Luke 18:13 says that the only prayer that God hears from them is “God be merciful to me a sinner”.  If you are a child of God as described in John 1:12 which says, “But as many as received Him, to them gave He power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on His name” you have the right to come to God at any time and ask for anything.

     God answers our prayers in three ways. The first is Yes. The second is No. The third is to wait a while. God knows what is best for us.

     Recently, I came across a very special verse in John 17:9 which says that Jesus prays for us. If Jesus thinks prayer is important, shouldn’t we?  

~Rev. Bob Johnson, Jr

Opportunities to Learn and Grow

Bible reading: Daniel 1:3-20
Focus verse: Daniel 1:18-20 “At the end of time set by the king to bring them in, the chief officials presented them to Nebuchadnezzar. The king talked to them, and he found none equal to Daniel, Hannania, Mishael and Azariah; so they entered the king’s service. In every matter of wisdom and understanding about which the king questioned them, he found them ten times better than all the magicians and enchanters in his whole kingdom.”

Testing is one of the ways in which learning is evaluated. Each day we are presented with opportunities to learn and grow in new ideas and we have the chance to better our understanding of the word of God. Daniel together with his three other friends are taken into a ten day learning experience and to be presented for testing after ten days. They refuse to defile their bodies with food and drinks that were not holy and pure before God but accept to take only what will please God. At the end of ten days the testing results show that they are ten times better than the other people.

Ten times better in ten days! Isn’t that encouraging.  Not nine times, or eight times, or five times better in ten days. This means each day was an opportunity for them to grow and they did not miss any single opportunity. Imagine if believers would grow in their faith and understanding and service of God each day. The result could be a well varied difference between the world and believers. For some of us, it would be thousands of times better than the world given the number of days we have lived as God’s own children. But is that the truth or we are mixed into the world so that barely any difference is seen regardless of the number of days we have lived as God’s children. Have we grown in proportion to our life spent with God? 2 Timothy 2:15 – Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word truth.  Avoid godless character, because those who indulge in it will become more and more ungodly.   

Take opportunities to learn and grow.

Pastor Eliazar Wambo
Makira Baptist Church – Mfangano Kenya

Easter Changed Everything

 Easter Changed Everything

Scripture Reading:  Matthew 28:1-10

Focus Verses: Matthew 28:5-7  "Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.  And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.”

Focus Verses: Matthew 28:5-7  "Then the angel spoke to the women. “Don’t be afraid!” he said. “I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.  He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying.  And now, go quickly and tell his disciples that he has risen from the dead.”

Let us imagine for a moment that after three days in the grave Jesus' body continued to lay in the grave. The stone was never rolled back from the door of the grave.  If this had happened we would have no hope of salvation.  We would have no hope of our sins being forgiven.  We would have no hope of heaven.  

Sunday morning changed everything.  We know that the stone was rolled away from the grave.  We know that Jesus did come out of that grave and he lives!  We know that God has power over death and the grave.  And that changes everything for us.  We have hope because we serve a risen Jesus not a dead Jesus.  The love that God has for us is what put Jesus on that cross.  I don’t think we can imagine the pain and suffering that Jesus went through because of our sins.

After Jesus' resurrection the disciples knew everything that had happened was true because they were willing to die because of the testimony of what they had seen.  And the resurrection of Jesus can change your life too.  The Bible says that after the two women visited the empty grave, the angel told them to go quickly and tell the disciples the good news.  We have now also been given a task to do.  We are to share the good news of the Gospel with others that don’t know that Jesus is alive.  Let us share this hope that we have because Easter has changed everything!

Bobby Johnson

Interlocking Ministries