Total Solar Eclipse, End Times, and If Today Was You’re “Last” Day Purity 1320

To see today's photo, go to mt4christ.org or follow me, M.t. Clark, on Facebook or Twitter. Good morning. Today's photo of the sunrise from Preacher's Rock near Suches, Georgia comes to us from Fred Dimmick, who shared this photo on social media Saturday. Fred hasn't let the moss grow fat on his rolling stone of a life since retirement a few years back and is out actively living his life to the fullest, recently doing back-to-back endurance hikes on the Fire Creek Rim Trail in the Nantahala National Forest in North Carolina. I suspect that if he was suddenly called into eternity, Fred would be pleased with how he spent his last 48 hours doing something he loved in the splendor of God's creation. Well, it's Monday, April 8th, the day of the big eclipse.. And as the moon and sun will converge to give us a moment to pause and consider our life's path through time and space, I am considering our last day and the possibility of Jesus coming back soon and unexpectedly as He told us in Matthew 24:44, "You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected." And He told us in Revelation 22:20, 12 and 13, "Look, I am coming soon, bringing my reward with me to repay all people according to their deeds. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end." So is today the day that we will see Jesus coming on a cloud and will have his faithful followers to meet him in the air, as the Apostle Paul tells us in 1 Thessalonians 4:16 and 17? Let's just say I'm ready. Come, Lord Jesus, come! How cool would that be? But honestly, my middle name is Thomas, and when it comes to end times predictions, I am filled with doubt over whether Jesus's— Jesus Christ's return will happen in my lifetime here on Earth, let alone later this afternoon to coincide with today's solar eclipse. Although I believe Jesus will return to reclaim and rule the Earth for 1,000 years and eventually usher in a new new earth as the Bible tells us, I'm doubtful it will start today. But it could. For those curious about what Christians should actually believe about the end times based on what the Bible says, check out a couple of links I'm sharing from GotQuestions.org on the blog today if you got questions about the millennial— millennium kingdom. And the new heavens and new earth. Uh, if you check out those links, you'll probably be a lot less scared about the future. That is, of course, if you have made peace with God by placing your faith in Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior. Of course, truly, the only way we can have peace about the end times, or the end of our time here on Earth, our deaths, or any given day really, is to have the assurance that you are safe and have the guarantee of eternal life that is only found in Christ alone. If you don't have Jesus, you should be afraid. Not only could you die at any moment in any number of unexpected ways, which would not be cool, if you haven't been forgiven of your sins and welcomed into God's kingdom as his beloved child, you would die in your trespasses and sins. Your independence from God and disbelief in the person and finished work of Jesus will be seen as rebellion and rejection of God's gracious invitation to life with him. If you die without faith in Jesus, you'll be rightly judged for your sins and face God's wrath and go to the dark place that Jesus warns us about. To quote a 2017 article from the Gospel Coalition's Leslie Schmucker, Jesus doesn't only reference hell, he describes it in great detail. He says it is a place of eternal torment, of unquenchable fire, where the worm does not die, where people will gnash their teeth in anguish and regret, and from which there is no return, even to warn loved ones. He calls hell a place of outer darkness, comparing it to Gehenna, which was a trash dump outside the walls of Jerusalem where rubbish was burned and maggots abounded. Jesus talks about hell more than he talks about heaven and describes it more vividly. There's no denying that Jesus knew, believed, and warned people about the absolute reality of hell. So, if— unquote— so if today's solar eclipse has you all nervous about what will happen, or has you wondering about the universe, you, and the big questions of life and death, grab a hold of the answers the Bible gives you— gives us— and grab a hold of the eternal hope and new life that you can have by making the decision to trust in Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You don't have to be afraid of an eclipse. You don't need to be afraid of your mistakes in life, and you don't have to worry about how or when you will die. If you put your faith in Jesus, you will be safe and you will live with God forever. Jesus said in John 11:25-26, I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me, though he may die, he shall live. And whoever lives and believes in me shall never die.

Do you believe this?

For many reasons, I know the Bible is true. Jesus is who he said he is, and I do believe this. And although I, I'm not going to attempt to fly into heaven to meet Jesus today or run headlong into the jaws of death to see Jesus sooner, I have to share this good news. I know that no matter what happens, I will one day be safe and alive in God's kingdom forever. And I believe that if you believe what Jesus said and trust in him as your Lord and Savior, you can be there too. Today's Bible verses come to us from the Quick Scripture Reference for Counseling by John G. Crews. This morning's meditation verses come to us from the section on death and eternal life. And today's verses come from John 14:1-4, where Jesus said, let not your hearts be troubled. Believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many rooms. If it were not so, would I have told you that I go to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also. And you know the way to where I am going. Today's verses are the second of two passages of scripture that fall under the second point of our Counseling Reference Guide's resource section on death and eternal life. And that second point is: The believer will dwell in God's house forever. Today's verses cement what I think I didn't realize was today's topic. Eternal life and safety through faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus tells us to believe in God, to believe in him, and that he prepares a place for those who put their faith in him. So add these words of, uh, of Jesus to the other verses that assure us of the need to make a decision to believe in Jesus and to follow him, and be at ease knowing that the way Jesus goes is the way we want to go. As always, I invite all to go to mtforchrist.org where I always share insights from prominent Christian theologians and counselors to assist my brothers and sisters in Christ with their walk. Today we continue sharing from According to Your Word: Morning and Evening Through the New Testament by Stephen F. Allford. And in his devotional, Allford prompts us to read a chapter of scripture. Today's chapter is John 12. And from John 12, he shares a portion of verse 3, which says, "Mary took a pound of very costly oil of spikenard and anointed the feet of Jesus." And Alford writes, "This act of Mary expresses three things: her faith. Faith had revealed to her that Jesus was none other than the Lamb of God who would take away the sin of the world. Thus, she took the pound of oil, breaking it upon Him in anticipation of His atoning death. Her hope. Hope had carried her beyond death and the grave. Had she thought that Jesus Christ would not rise, she would have kept the oil until the burying for embalming. Her love. Above her faith and hope shines forth her love in this act, for in that expensive gift was expressed her unstinted, unreserved love. Love is only measured by the sacrificial gift, and the breaking of the vessel of spikenard upon him meant the sacrifice of her, of her all. No wonder the room was filled. And Alfred ends with the prayer, 'Oh, that my life would be as Mary's oil, a sacrificial, unreserved gift to my Lord.' Amen. And yeah, our faith, hope, and love have to be in Jesus.

And, um, that's a relationship. We have faith in him, we can trust him, we hope in him, we trust that he'll do good things for us and, and be true to what he says. And our love will cause us to stay with him and follow him all the days of our lives. And that's it.

If you don't have love for Christ, you know, it's not just mental assent. If you have mental assent, you probably have no assurance of salvation. You know, "Oh, I believe that." Do you believe in your heart with love for the Lord? Because that's, that's who that— if you actually believe it, you should love him very much because he gives you a gift of forgiveness and eternal life. That's a big gift. And I would— I love the person that gave me that gift. That person is Jesus. And as much as I would love for Jesus to come back today, like I said, I doubt he will, um, today. However, he could, because I doubt. It says I don't know, so he could come. And if he comes, I'm ready. And if he calls me home in other ways, like I suddenly die, I'll be ready for that too. I think in worst-case scenarios, in the worst-case scenario for me, as Paul, you know, says in the epistles, for me to die is Christ.

Or I always mess that up, but you understand if you know the Bible, you know what I mean.

You know, for me to die is Christ. I forget that, you know, if I die, no big deal, I'll go to Christ, and if I live, I will proclaim him.

That's the bottom line there, and that's my purpose in life.

Why? Because he changed my life.

I lived selfishly and sinfully most of my adult life, and then I got a message.

A message I thought I knew, but that really hit home in March of 2010 when I realized I believed in hell. I just didn't believe I could not go there. But I heard a message that basically told me that if I believe in Jesus, I'd be forgiven, and it wasn't about my performance.

I didn't have to be a good person or earn my way into heaven. And, uh, that was a game changer because it broke my heart. It showed me the love the Lord has for us all, that we don't have to make things right. Well, we do, but it's a gift that we receive. It's not something we perform. It's a gift he freely gives, and if we take it, we receive eternal life and hope and peace and joy and love. When we walk in the Spirit, we experience these things, and that's when we follow Jesus with the way we live.

So we'll have eternity someday, peace in eternity, but we can have peace now.

When we live according to his wisdom and his love.

So that's why we do the blog, and that's why we do the podcast, and, you know, that's why I have hope.

This isn't a show.

This is real life.

This is what's happened to me, and I encourage you to find this truth and find this new life for yourself by putting your faith in Jesus. And if you got your faith in Jesus already, rejoice and tell somebody else about it. Because the world needs this, needs this knowledge. Not everyone will believe, but we have to be diligent in telling people because the cost is life and death.

And it's a good, it's a good life when you know you're going to live forever.

And I believe.

So anyway, today I am on vacation. I believe I'm going to relax, and I'll probably do some stuff out in the yard to clean up, be a good steward of my property, and look to the skies later to see if I can see anything in terms of the moon going over the sun. You know, check it out, if I don't miss it, which I could, you never know.

But that's my intention— get out, enjoy the day, and it's supposed to be pleasant here in upstate New York, so I'll probably spend some time in prayer and study and just resting because I've been blessed with a job that gives me a vacation.

And after all the work I've done with the Freedom in Christ over the last month or two, uh, I wanted to rest.

Um, we did battle with the spiritual forces of darkness by telling people about their freedom in Christ. And leading 8 men through the Steps to Freedom in Christ. And, um, it's awesome to see that work done, but, uh, it's time-consuming, and, uh, it's time to take, take, take a little bit of a rest this week, although I won't rest much. But, uh, I'm just going to thank the Lord and, and, uh, relax, um, and still do everything I do. I still will do the podcast and the ministry on Wednesday nights and anything else that comes to mind, anything else I'm responsible for. But I'm going to relax, not like a staycation.

Anyway, let's pray. Lord God, Heavenly Father, thank you for another day in your kingdom. Lord, we pray for you to bless anyone who's reading or listening today, today's message. Lord, we pray for this message to go out to people who are not saved, who will put their faith in Jesus today, um, or tomorrow, or whenever this message is heard or read.

Lord, because that's our, that's our hope, is that we can share the freedom and life that we have been given from you.

So we pray for—

and we pray encourages people who know you, that they already know this and they just got to remind themselves of the gift they've been given to have joy and peace every day.

Lord, we just pray for you to guide our day today. Show me the things you want me to do and help me to do them. And, uh, lead me in the way I should go, because, uh, all I want to do is represent your kingdom. And, uh, I know I need a lot of help with that.

So thank you, Lord.

We praise you, we love you, and we pray all these things in the mighty name of Jesus.

Amen.