I am going on vacation this week so this will be short about about vacations.  Vacations are good and everyone one needs one every once in a while.  So if you have not taken a vacation recently, save your money and go.

The question, Are you Ready?, is important in the Bible.  Whether you are pre-trib rapture believer or a post-trib rapture believer, you need to be ready.  Notice I used the noun “believer” in both cases.  Because I think you can still be a Christian and have one or the other opinion.  I personally believe the Bible teaches a post-trib rapture, but since we cannot know for sure until the future events happen we cannot (nor should not) hold too tightly to this belief.  God can and will fulfill scripture according to his plan and not our.  But either way we need to be ready.  We need to be ready if the rapture takes place tomorrow or after the great tribulation (or in the middle for all those mid-tribers out there).  And be ready if the opinion you have is wrong.  If you believe in pre-trib, are you ready to live into the tribulation (with all the persecution of Christians)?  If you are post-trib, are you ready right now to be raptured if you are wrong?  As I said, I would rather teach/preach a post-trib rapture and be wrong because once the rapture takes place no one will blame me for teaching in error.  However if I teach/preach a pre-trib rapture and I am wrong, I am going to have to live here on earth with the fact that I was wrong and will have to justify why I was wrong to others.  If I was wrong about something so critical as the last time, how will anyone believe I am right about all the other things the Bible teaches.  So I guess what I want to leave with you is to be ready.  Ready to suffer or ready to be raptured but most importantly to be ready to die and stand before our maker and judge.  Because whether or not we are living in the last times or God tarries for another 1000 years, most of us have a greater potential to die before the rapture takes place.  The death rate still is 100% (even Christ died).  Are you ready for that?

It was good to sit back in listen to a message I did not have to prepare.  I really enjoyed Joe’s take on Esther and it was a good reminder to me (and I hope to you) that God knows all about the circumstances and the situations we are facing.  And the reason why we are facing those circumstances and situations is because God has a purpose by placing us in those circumstances and situations.  So we should not focus on the question why we are in such circumstances and stiuations, but how we can be used by God “in such a time as this”.

The Battle of Mt. Carmel was a showdown for the ages.  Elijah was about to stand up against the wicked King Ahab.  That was tough enough.  He had the power to kill Elijah.  That is why it took Elijah 3 years to stand before him.  But the question I have for you is would you have been tough enough to stand up to the 650 prophet of Baal and Asherah.  That would have been much tougher.  One on one maybe, but one on 650?  That took guts.  And to challenge them at this dual and putting yourself at a disadvantage as well (with the water).  That was true faith.

The Battle of Mt. Carmel was a showdown for the ages.  Elijah was about to stand up against the wicked King Ahab.  That was tough enough.  He had the power to kill Elijah.  That is why it took Elijah 3 years to stand before him.  But the question I have for you is would you have been tough enough to stand up to the 650 prophet of Baal and Asherah.  That would have been much tougher.  One on one maybe, but one on 650?  That took guts.  And to challenge them at this dual and putting yourself at a disadvantage as well (with the water).  That was true faith.