Are you a soldier of the Cross?

We are living in times where tolerance of the true Christian message is getting very low.

Anyone who preaches or speaks the truth as found in God’s Word, the Bible, is being labelled a bigot, fundamentalist or a radical.   Tragic!

Sadly there is criticism of evangelical Christians even from within the church.  Why?   Many have departed from the faith and have given way to a social gospel, compromise and deception.  The pope speaks of evangelical Christians in very derogatory term.

As 1 Timothy 4 states: “Now the Holy Spirit tells us clearly that in the last times some will turn away from the true faith; they will follow deceptive spirits and teachings that come from demons”

I will be doing a series of posts very soon about deception in the church, subscribe to this blog today to make sure you do not miss out on the series.

In the meantime, my question is: Are YOU a soldier of the Cross?  A follower of the precious Lamb of God?  Then stand up, speak out and live for Him, who gave His life for you, the only Saviour, the Way, the Truth and the Life.

I leave you with the challenge posed by Isaac Watts (1721) in the that beautiful hymn…

1. Am I a soldier of the cross,
   A follow’r of the Lamb?
   And shall I fear to own His cause,
   Or blush to speak His name?
2. Must I be carried to the skies
   On flow’ry beds of ease,
   While others fought to win the prize,
   And sailed through bloody seas?
3. Are there no foes for me to face?
   Must I not stem the flood?
   Is this vile world a friend to grace,
   To help me on to God?
4. Sure I must fight if I would reign;
   Increase my courage, Lord;
   I’ll bear the toil, endure the pain,
   Supported by Thy Word.
5. Thy saints in all this glorious war
   Shall conquer, though they die;
   They see the triumph from afar,
   By faith’s discerning eye.
6. When that illustrious day shall rise,
   And all Thy armies shine
   In robes of vict’ry through the skies,
   The glory shall be Thine.

THE BEGINNING OF THE END?

There is no question about it … the world is so unstable at present.  Economies are tottering – so much national debt.   Morals are in a downward spiral.    People believe the lie rather than the truth.   Violence, insubordination, … As 2 Timothy 3 states:  “You should know this, … that in the last days there will be very difficult times. ² For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. ³ They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. ⁴ They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. ⁵ They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly.”      (New Living Translation)

The question then is this … “Is this the beginning of the end?”

I invite you to watch this video which covers the topic in a brilliant and comprehensive manner.   Amir Tsafati is from Israel and is became a Christian (Messianic Jew) during his high school days.  Since 1999, Amir has been invited to churches, prophecy seminars and conferences around the world, to teach on current events in Israel in light of Bible prophecy. (beholdisrael.org)    Absolutely sound teaching on the subject, do NOT skip any part of the video.  Brilliant and a must to see in these days.

CLICK HERE TO WATCH THE VIDEO

Any questions, please get in touch via the contact form or email me at dayashton.uk@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Deception in the last days ….

As the return of the Lord Jesus Christ draws ever closer, it is worthwhile taking stock of what is really happening and how all things are fitting into place towards the One World Government, One world Religion and One World Financial systems and the rise of the Antichrist.

There are many facets to this and understandably I can only touch very briefly on a few issues.

Today, with the help of an excellent internationally known author and lecturer, I am taking the liberty of sharing a video made by the late Dave Hunt a few years ago.    In this video, “A Woman Rides the Beast” (full 520 page book also available with the same title), the role of the Roman Catholic church in the last days is put forth very clearly and with incredible research gone into the information provided.

 “Why are you so amazed?” the angel asked. “I will tell you the mystery of this woman and of the beast with seven heads and ten horns on which she sits.” (Rev 17:7)

What is the mystery?  Who is the woman?  Who or What is the beast?   Prophecy expert, Dave Hunt, sifts through Global events and Biblical Truth and defines with detail the portrait of this “woman” and the powerful place in the Antichrist’s future empire.   Clues as to the identity can be found in Revelation 17 and 18.

Watch the video now and feel free to comment below or ask any questions.

One thing is sure … we must ensure we know the Lord Jesus Christ as personal Saviour so that whenever the Lord comes for His Church, you will be ready to meet Him as your Lord and Saviour.

Day Ashton

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CALVARY’S CROSS

The “C” in Calvary stands for the Cross on which the Lord Jesus Christ died to save us from our sins.  “For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard” (Romans 3:23).   “…You were His enemies, separated from Him by your evil thoughts and actions, yet now He has brought you back as His friends. He has done this through His death on the cross in His own human body.   As a result, He has brought you into the very presence of God, and you are holy and blameless as you stand before Him without a single fault” (Colossians 1:21-22).

“A” is for Atonement.   “For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us.  We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed His blood, sacrificing His life for us” (Romans 3:25)

Calvary’s “L” stands for the incredible Love with which Jesus loves us.  “And here is how to measure it – the greatest love is shown when people lay down their lives for their friends” (John 15:13).    “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).  The greatest expression of the love of Christ is seen in His self-sacrifice on Calvary’s Cross and in His blood that flowed from His wounded body – His head, His hands and His feet.   As the hymns says, “He could have called ten thousand angels, But He died alone, (alone), for you and me”.

“V” is for the Victory won at the cross of Calvary when Jesus shed His precious blood for us.  “He paid (a ransom) for you with the precious life-blood of Christ, the sinless, spotless Lamb of God” (1 Peter 1:19).  “For sin is the sting that results in death, and the law gives its power.  How we thank God, who gives us the victory over sin and death through Jesus Christ our Lord” (1 Corinthians 15:56-57).

The second “A” stands for the Assurance we have that if we have confessed our sin and accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our Saviour and Lord, we can know our sins are forgiven and know that we have eternal life.   “If we confess our sins to Him, He is faithful and just to forgive us and cleanse us from every wrong” (1 John 1:9).

“R” reminds us the Jesus is Risen from the dead!  We serve a Risen Saviour!  “And Jesus Christ our Lord was shown to be the Son of God when God powerfully raised Him from the dead by means of the Holy Spirit” (Romans 1:4).  This gives us hope indeed.   “If Christ has not been raised, then our faith is useless … but the fact is that Christ has been raised from the dead.  He became the first of a great harvest of those who will be raised to life again” (1 Corinthians 15:17 & 20).

When faced with such love, such sacrificial love … the “Y” stands for Your decision (and mine).  What will you do with Jesus?  Neutral we cannot be.  “Look!  Here I stand at the door and knock.  If you hear me calling and open the door, I will come in …” (Revelation 3:20)

And now a prayer …

Dearest Lord Jesus, help us to understand how much You love us.   Today as we remember the great price You paid to purchase our salvation, help us to respond and seek to know You as our Risen Saviour and Lord.   In these difficult days when Christ’s blood and atoning sacrifice is hardly mentioned, help us to realize anew just what it cost You to purchase our salvation.  Please deepen our understanding of the meaning and power of the Cross and Your precious blood that was shed for us at Calvary.

I close with the very meaningful words of a song written by Stuart Townend & Keith Getty:

Oh, to see my name
Written in the wounds,
For through Your suffering I am free.
Death is crushed to death,
Life is mine to live,
Won through Your selfless love.

This, the power of the cross:
Son of God, slain for us.
What a love! What a cost!

As we approach Easter …

During February this year (2017) the BBC commissioned a survey of 2010 people.

The tragic results showed that at least a quarter (25%) of people who described themselves as Christians in Great Britain,  don’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus.   Only 31% of Christians believe word-for-word the Bible account of the resurrection.   It rises to 57% amongst so-called “active” Christians (those described as going to a “religious” service at least once a month).

In my book, “Moments of Encouragement”, I wrote about God’s infallible Word.  I asked the question:  ‘How far has the message of the modern church strayed from the Truth of God’s Word, His infallible Word?”

The “infallible Word of God” – this is the issue eating away at the Church today!   I have have heard first hand a minister say from the pulpit that God’s Word is fallible!   That same church was one that discouraged the use of Bibles in church and removed all Bibles from the pews.

The BBC article quotes the acting general secretary for Modern Church (which actually promotes Liberal Christian theology) as stating the following:

“I think [people answering the survey] are being asked to believe in the way they might have been asked to believe when they were at Sunday school. You’re talking about adults here. And an adult faith requires that it be constantly questioned, constantly re-interpreted, which incidentally is very much what modern church is actually about.” She continues by saying:  “Science, but also intellectual and philosophical thought has progressed. It has a trickle-down effect on just about everybody’s lives.  So to ask an adult to believe in the resurrection the way they did when they were at Sunday school simply won’t do and that’s true of much of the key elements of the Christian faith.”

What an utter lie and deception this is.   A statement like that comes from the great deceiver himself.   God’s Word is infallible.  It does NOT change to fit in with man’s thinking.  It stands forever.  We do not adapt the Bible to man’s interpretation, but rather, we build our faith and lives on the unchanging Word of God.   Is it any wonder that society is as it is these days?

The story of Easter, starting with Palm Sunday (today) IS the Gospel of salvation.  It is the most significant period in the Christian calendar.   It IS the central theme and fantastic reality of the mercy and grace of God by sending His One and Only Son to take on Him the punishment of our sin.  If one takes anything away from the Bible, God’s Word, one is in a very dangerous position.

Let the Bible speak for itself:   “All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man of God may be adequate, equipped for every good work” ( 2 Timothy 3:16-17).   “ I passed on to you what was most important and what had also been passed on to me. Christ died for our sins, just as the Scriptures said.⁴ He was buried, and he was raised from the dead on the third day, just as the Scriptures said. ⁵ He was seen by Peter and then by the Twelve.⁶ After that, he was seen by more than 500 of his followers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have died. ⁷ Then he was seen by James and later by all the apostles. ⁸ Last of all, as though I had been born at the wrong time, I also saw him. ⁹ For I am the least of all the apostles. In fact, I’m not even worthy to be called an apostle after the way I persecuted God’s church” (1 Corinthians 15:3-9)

Paul continues in his letter to the Corinthian church:  “But tell me this—since we preach that Christ rose from the dead, why are some of you saying there will be no resurrection of the dead? ¹³ For if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised either. ¹⁴ And if Christ has not been raised, then all our preaching is useless, and your faith is useless. ¹⁵ And we apostles would all be lying about God—for we have said that God raised Christ from the grave. But that can’t be true if there is no resurrection of the dead. ¹⁶ And if there is no resurrection of the dead, then Christ has not been raised. ¹⁷ And if Christ has not been raised, then your faith is useless and you are still guilty of your sins. ¹⁸ In that case, all who have died believing in Christ are lost! ¹⁹ And if our hope in Christ is only for this life, we are more to be pitied than anyone in the world.

²⁰ But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead. He is the first of a great harvest of all who have died.

²¹ So you see, just as death came into the world through a man, now the resurrection from the dead has begun through another man. ²² Just as everyone dies because we all belong to Adam, everyone who belongs to Christ will be given new life. ²³ But there is an order to this resurrection: Christ was raised as the first of the harvest; then all who belong to Christ will be raised when he comes back”

If one denies the literal death, burial and resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, you will be lost eternally.   That is the crux of the Christian message.   But there is time (not much time) left to turn to Jesus and ask His forgiveness and believe in the One and Only Saviour, the Lord Jesus Himself.

As Lorraine Lorenz puts it so clearly in her excellent devotional book “Amber’s Story – Walking Back into the Light”:

“There are certain foundations of our faith, which are made very clear in the Bible.  It is essential that we believe these with all our hearts.  In this post-modern age there are Christians who have ‘second thoughts’ about them.   Where do you stand?”

My next blog will contain a further extract from her book where we will take a quick test and see where we stand.

1 Timothy 4:16 says:  “Watch your life and your doctrine closely”

So as we enter this Easter period, the most sacred and holy period in the Christian calendar, please stop and think about what it really means.  Not Easter eggs and Easter bunnies, etc.    It is the greatest love story ever told, that Jesus loved us so much that He laid down His life for you and me, so that if we believe in Him, put our trust in Him as Saviour and Lord, we will have eternal life and be set free from our sin.

And now a prayer:   Father, help me to realize afresh that Your Word is Truth!  Help me to accept it as such without any doubt.  Help me to love it more and more and to strive to hide Your Word in my heart so that I can learn to live in a way that is pleasing to You. Thank you for Your Word, the Bible. Amen.

If you have any questions or comments regarding this article, do not hesitate to contact me.

Day Ashton
Email: dayashton.uk@gmail.com

 

 

 

 

THE FUTURE?

Have you found yourself wondering what the future holds?

We are living in very tumultuous times.   Nothing is as it was and change is the order of the day.  The UK has just had a referendum and voted to leave the EU – this is a momentous event in the history of Europe as a whole and the UK specifically.  Who knows how things will pan out …

There is a migration problem affecting the Western world as we know it and changing the traditional “landscape” and “lifestyles” of so many countries around the globe.   Increased threats of terrorism, economic changes and unstable markets.   I don’t need to remind you … just look around you, read the news headlines, listen to news.

Yes, there are a few positive changes too, but the rapid changes taking place is impacting on so many lives and communities

The Bible actually warns of change and various situations that will occur as we get closer to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ.

The Dangers of the Last Days

“You should know this, Timothy, that in the last days there will be very difficult times. For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred.  They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly. Stay away from people like that! … (they) oppose the truth … have depraved minds and a counterfeit faith.“

We also know that “everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution. But evil people and impostors will flourish.  They will deceive others and will themselves be deceived“.

If you know the Lord Jesus as your personal Saviour, then in the same way Paul urged Timothy, “remain faithful to the things you have been taught. … All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives.  It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right.  God uses it to prepare and equip His people“.  (All Scripture quotations above are from 2 Timothy 3)

But having read the above and seeing what is happening around the world, we can still be so encouraged because God has promised He will never leave us nor forsake us.

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9
“Be strong and of good courage, do not fear nor be afraid of them; for the Lord your God, He is the One who goes with you. He will not leave you nor forsake you” Deuteronomy 31:6

I could share so many more encouraging verses from the Bible, but I encourage you to look up the word encouragement in a concordance and find these treasures throughout God’s Word.

Yes the future is frightening, but if you know the Lord, He promises to be with you and help you each step of the way.

I end with the words of that wonderful hymn: “I know who holds tomorrow”
I don’t know about tomorrow
I just live from day to day
I don’t borrow from its sunshine
For its skies may turn to gray
I don’t worry o’er the future
For I know what Jesus said
And today I’ll walk beside Him
For He knows what is ahead

Chorus:
Many things about tomorrow
I don’t seem to understand
But I know who holds tomorrow
And I know who holds my hand

I don’t know about tomorrow
It may bring me poverty
But the one who feeds the sparrow
Is the one who stands by me
And the path that be my portion
May be through the flame or flood
But His presence goes before me
And I’m covered with His blood

If you do not know the Lord Jesus as your personal Saviour, I urge you to get to know Him as soon as possible.  If you want to know more, please contact me.

Is there really hope for the future?

 

WHAT HOPE IS THERE FOR THE FUTURE?

Is it unreasonable to ask such a question?  No.  Why should it be?

As we look around us, the world we are living in does not look a very happy place!

Increased levels of fear due to terrorism. Based on what we have been seeing in the last few months, acts of terror are increasing globally, not forgetting constant daily terror attacks in Israel.   Warfare has changed and it is so difficult to “nail” the terrorists, police and armed forces facing very dangerous situations.

Strange and dangerous treaties being signed.  Laws being changed to accommodate non-Biblical values and anti-Christian stances.

The global economy is not stable.  Despite that. there are so many instances of various projects where money is being wasted while needy folk within ALL countries, including our own, are struggling.   Incredible amounts of money being spent on issues over which humankind has genuinely got no control despite them thinking they have, global warming and climate change being one such instance.   Oh yes, one does have to take due care and avoid unnecessary damage to the planet that God created.   But in reality, if folk would take time to read the Bible, they would discover that this world as we know it is destined to be burned up.

Am I being cynical?  No, I am being a realist.

What hope is there then?

The sad, sad situation in our world today is that people are writing God out of the equation.  God has provided incredible guidelines in His Word which would solve a myriad of the problems we are facing today IF His Word, His Guidelines would be followed and adhered to.   So many issues would be resolved if we would be obedient to His Word.  Sadly people have ignored the Book of Books, know little about it or prefer to treat it as a great literary work rather than Life’s Handbook.

I believe (as do many true Christians) that the Lord’s return is very, very close.   No, we cannot say the day or the hour, BUT the Lord Jesus Himself warned that we could tell the general period of His return.   Never before have things been so ready for all the end-time scenarios to fall into place.  In fact, the Bible in 2 Timothy 3 tells us that things will go from bad to worse!  Someone recently compared events in the last days to a pack of dominoes.  They are all closely stacked up together and once the first domino goes, the others will fall in rapid succession.

World events will be like that in the last days:  the Church (true believers in the Lord Jesus Christ, those who have put their trust in Him as Saviour) will be caught up to meet the Lord in the air (commonly known as The Rapture). Once this has happened, the Antichrist will emerge (Global Leader), the Tribulation Period of 7 years will begin. Then the Battle of Armageddon followed by the Return or Second Coming of Jesus Christ (this time as Judge and not Saviour).  This is followed by the Millennium (the 1000 year reign of Christ), etc.
These events will have the domino effect. Once the first one starts, the others will follow in sequence and rapid succession. I have no doubt that we have never been closer to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ than we are right now.

Just look how descriptive God’s Word is:  ” …   in the last days there will be very difficult times. ² For people will love only themselves and their money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to their parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. ³ They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self-control. They will be cruel and hate what is good. ⁴ They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God. ⁵ They will act religious, but they will reject the power that could make them godly… ” (2 Timothy 3:1-5 – New Living Translation)

Describes things exactly as they are!  It goes on to describe that “^{3 …}  a time is coming when people will no longer listen to sound and wholesome teaching. They will follow their own desires and will look for teachers who will tell them whatever their itching ears want to hear. ⁴ They will reject the truth and chase after myths.” (2 Tim 4:3&4 NLT).   People find it far easier to follow New Age teachings, Liberal Theology, Esoterical Thinking, Humanistic thinking, etc.

 

The Bible describes the times and attitudes of people in the world we are living in now so accurately.

I could say SO much more, but to get back to the question I asked at the start of this article:  “Is there really hope for the future?”

Yes.  There certainly is!   There is one way and only one way.   If we as individuals have accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as our personal Saviour, we have the hope of eternal life where we will be forever with the Lord.   Whilst we are still here upon this earth, God’s Word does not teach us that nothing will go wrong in the life of a Christian – it does – BUT, we do not have to go through things alone.  He gives the strength we need.  He provides for us in various ways when we go through hard times, He really does – He has done it for me countless times!

For those Christians who have become “lukewarm” towards the things of the Lord, it is time to WAKE UP as time is running out.  Churches that are failing to stick to the Truth of God’s Word; compromising His Word and making it say or not say what it clearly states; failing to preach the True Gospel of Repentance and point people to Jesus as the only way to the Father and to be saved; no longer regard the Bible as the infallible Word of God – are in a very dangerous position.   Revelation teaches that God will spit them out of His mouth as they make Him sick!   The invitation to those churches is this:    “²⁰ Behold, I stand at the door [of the church] and continually knock. If anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him (restore him), and he with Me. ²¹ He who overcomes [the world through believing that Jesus is the Son of God], I will grant to him [the privilege] to sit beside Me on My throne, as I also overcame and sat down beside My Father on His throne. ²² He who has an ear, let him hear and heed what the Spirit says to the churches.”  (Rev 3:20 – Amplified)

I end with two verses from a very old hymn written by Edward Mote (1797-1874) based on the 1 Timothy 1:1

My hope is built on nothing less
Than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
But wholly lean on Jesus’ name.
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

When He shall come with trumpet sound,
Oh, may I then in Him be found,
Clothed in His righteousness alone,
Faultless to stand before the throne!
On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand;
All other ground is sinking sand.

If you have any questions or comments, please contact me without delay.

Day Ashton
dayashton.uk@gmail.com

YOU ALSO BE READY FOR IN AN HOUR WHEN YOU DON’T EXPECT, JESUS WILL COME!

 

 

 

 

The End Times (Daniel 12)

THE END TIMES (Daniel 12)

We are living in very troubled and dangerous times and according to the Bible, what we are seeing happening all around us, globally, is indicative of the last days prior to the return of the Lord Jesus Christ (and yes, He IS coming back again).

I feel led to share this beautiful poem penned by Lorraine Lorenz in her daily devotional book, “Amber’s Story – Walking Back into the Light”

The angel is speaking to Daniel
Revealing the things still to come
In far distant future he sees them
In God’s time these things will be done.

The Antichrist ruling the nations
Unparalleled cruelty to man
Distress so severe, it’s unequalled
To any, since nations began

At that time the Archangel Michael
Protecting God’s people of old,
Will rise up with power from Heaven
And take on his God-given role

Behold now the great resurrection
Of all those asleep in the dust
The saved ones will rise to perfection
Perdition, the fate of the lost.

To shine as the brightness of Heaven
Be wise and your wisdom impart
For those who lead many to [Jesus]
Eternally shine as the stars

Then someone enquired of the angel,
“How long will these things take to be?”
“For a time and times and a half time”,
[Or “3 and one half years”] said he.

The angel continued his message
“The words are now rolled up and sealed
Till the time of the end, when so surely
[These secrets will all be revealed]”

No matter what anyone might think to the contrary, these things will happen.

One thing is sure, we cannot tell the day or the hour, but the Bible tells us we can discern the season … that season is here and we need to be sure we are ready to meet the Lord Jesus as our Saviour and not as our Judge.

If you have any questions, fill in the contact form and we will get back to you

God bless

Day Ashton

Is it possible to understand the “End Times”?

I was SO blessed this morning while listening to a powerful message about “The Final Generation”.  It was powerful and so clear.

This brings me to a trend that seems to have been developing amongst Christians, and that is to discard the discussion of the Second Coming.  People are buying into the idea (wrongly so!) that it is a “confusing” topic, that it is hard to understand.

This is simply not true … do you think for one minute that the Lord would have written His Word and made it “unclear”?   Of course not!   The book of Revelation starts out by saying, “Blessed is the one who reads this and understands”.  This therefore assumes that you can understand it.     Just think about it for a moment, the books of the New Testament were written to a generation of new believers in the Lord Jesus Christ and they could understand it.

The problem is, “man” has complicated things!  Instead of using the basic interpretive principles used to understand any ancient document and any discourse in any language in any place, man has strayed away from allowing Scripture to interpret itself.  Man has planted the doubt and confusion, where there was clarity.   Reminds me a bit of the serpent in the Garden of Eden … “Did God say …. ?”    The Bible, all of Scripture, has One Author, that is God, and He never contradicts Himself.  2 Timothy 3:16-17 states: “¹⁶ All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. ¹⁷ God uses it to prepare and equip His people to do every good work“

Of course there are things we don’t fully understand yet because they haven’t taken place as yet, BUT what we do know is that up till now, if God has promised something, He does it. With prophecy, we cannot know all the finer details of the fulfilment, but that it will happen as the Bible says is for real!

And when it comes to the return of Christ, the prophecies are in fact VERY clear indeed – no need for the “confusion”.    Human history as we know it culminates at the return of the Lord Jesus Christ to earth.   (I’ll be sharing more about the return of the Lord Jesus in future blogs, so if you want to know more about this subject, make sure you click “follow” and you will get to know when the new blogs are published).

I’ve had a deep and real interest in eschatology for more years than I care to remember. What on earth is eschatology?  Theologically speaking, the term refers to “the study of final things” in the Bible. It concerns both personal eschatological issues such as death and the intermediate state as well as themes with a more general focus such as the return of Christ, resurrection, judgment, tribulation, the millennial kingdom, and the eternal state, etc.

I have a growing concern that people in general have little knowledge or understanding of end-time prophecy.   Even worse, if that were possible, people – even fellow Christians – have little interest in it and prefer not to discuss it.   Is it important?  Of course it is!!  If Christians are not bothered, why should those who don’t know the Lord as their Saviour be worried.   It is that very blessed hope of the Lord’s imminent return that should fire us up into sharing the Gospel of Jesus to a lost world – while there is yet time!   It is so important to understand this and to understand just how near the end of history as we know it is!  Are there consequences of not being ready for His Return?   Yes … serious consequences. (More about that in my next blog)

We actually have nothing to fear about the future (if we know the Lord as our personal Saviour) because the Bible tells us clearly how it will all end. It is described clearly and with much detail in Scripture. And, the truth of the Second Coming literally fills the New Testament – introduced by our Lord Jesus Himself in the gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke in particular.   We need to study all of Scripture and get the whole picture.   I’m looking forward to His Return.  Are you?

Find out more about His Return in my next blog.

^” You also must be ready all the time, for the Son of Man will come when least expected” (Matthew 24:44)

HAS THE WORLD GONE MAD?

Never before has the world been quite in such a state as it is now … and don’t let anyone try and water that statement down!

Just this past week terrorist attacks have made the headlines yet again.  Innocent folk gunned down or blown to shreds.  News of further attacks imminent!

Over the last few months the migration crisis has been getting completely out of hand with the powers that be not having any answer as to how to deal with the situation.  Thousands pouring into countries, thousands losing their lives in the process.  Illegal immigrants causing chaos at country borders.   The whole situation is totally out of control.

Financially the world is unstable … debt crises, general economic meltdown.  
Globalists taking advantage of the fear and panic to pursue their agenda for a “one-world” system. One World Economic order, One World Government …

Churches compromising Biblical Truth and Guidelines to “fit in” with modern society and political correctness.   No clear message being preached from many pulpits any more. Thank God for those churches where the Bible is being taught in its fullness.  Thank the Lord for those ministers and Christians who are not ashamed of the true Gospel of the Lord Jesus and are willing to speak out.

Right has become wrong and wrong, right!

Believe it or not, the Bible tells us that this is exactly what will happen in the last days … the end times (and much, much more!)

I feel so constrained to share this message (which is likely not to be very popular!) as all around me I see such complacency!   People brushing aside the thought of any imminent return of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Rapture of the Church (ekklesia – the called out ones, those who profess faith in and allegiance to Christ) or the Great Tribulation that will come upon the earth after the Rapture of the Church.   So many folk simply laugh off any idea of there being a God OR are of the opinion that all religions are equal, promoting interfaith movements … once again in line with the end-time scenario of a One World Religion.

Dear friends … I cannot stress enough that we are living in days when the return of the Lord is closer than ever before.   We do NOT know the day nor the hour BUT as Jesus Himself said, we can tell the seasons … you and I need to be ready!

Whether you believe the Bible or not, whether you believe what I’m saying or not will not make one iota of difference.   Jesus is alive and He is returning – this time as the Judge and not the Saviour!   The door of opportunity is still open, but we don’t know for how long!

How can you be ready?   Make sure you:

• repent of your sin (for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God – Romans 3:23);
• ask the Lord Jesus to cleanse you from all sin and to come into your heart/life and give you eternal life (for God so loved the world, He gave His only Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have everlasting life – John 3:16);
• Make sure you read your Bible every day – a good place to start will be the Gospel of John. (If you haven’t got a Bible, get one.  If you can’t get one, let us know!)
• Pray (talk to God) and ask Him to help you live for Him moment by moment, day by day.
• Find a Bible-believing church so that you can get to know other Christians and grow spiritually.

A special word to those who know the Lord Jesus as their Saviour, we need to stop playing church and really get serious in following Jesus very closely, reaching out to the lost and praying.

Leonard Ravenhill once said: even “if the whole church goes off into deception, that will in no way excuse us for not following Christ”.   Stand up for the Truth!

Live expectantly!  Make sure you’ve accepted the pardon that Jesus died to purchase for you. Make sure your friends and family have the opportunity to accept this pardon too!

I close with an extract from John Hagee’s prayer earlier today:

“Father God, we worship You today as the one and only Authority. You are the Alpha and the Omega, the Author and the Finisher of our faith. The world around us may be in utter chaos as our society does its best to destroy us from the inside out…but YOU ARE STILL IN CONTROL!   … You said that the righteous would not be forsaken. Lord, make the crooked way straight for us as we delight ourselves in you, as we use the Word of God to direct our path.  We give you praise and glory today, as we glorify your matchless name! Amen!”

For any further help, do not hesitate to contact me

Day Ashton